From the chapel department to student development and residence life, Covenant leaders and administrators are interested in not only walking with and supporting students in areas outside of the classroom, but they are adamant in helping students grow as fellow image-bearers and disciples of Christ. Deans, associate deans, and vice presidents across Covenant’s campus support this mission daily as they work directly with our Covenant students.

A Transition from Chapel Associate

As of February 1, Stephanie (Granberry) Formenti ’04 has begun serving as the vice president of student development for Covenant College. Formenti previously served as the chapel associate for discipleship at Covenant. Part of her role was to minister to Covenant students and disciple them in their walks with Christ. Formenti explains that “this need arose out of an awareness that over half of Covenant students are women, and it was becoming clear that the college was in need of a woman on staff to handle discipleship and ministry to Covenant’s female students. There has been a desire for a female equivalent to the job which our chaplain does. I have helped run the SMCs [student ministry coordinators] and identified female speakers for chapel. These roles require a more ministerial aspect, but the thread which spans from my current role to this new one would be discipleship,” Formenti said.

Formenti will continue to fill the role of chapel associate until the position is filled as she begins serving as vice president of student development, the position previously held by President Brad Voyles, which has been vacant since he served as interim president and was later selected as college president. 

An Illuminated Path

Formenti graduated from Covenant in 2004 and then went to seminary. She has been in both formal and informal ministry contexts in many places. She said, “I was on the mission field, was a stay at home mom, [and] taught English in Brazil, so I’ve been all over. But, my job six years ago was my first time on staff at Covenant after seminary.”

For Formenti, this promotion was not necessarily something she had planned on pursuing, but she feels that the Lord has called her to this new role. Taking this next step is an act of obedience for Formenti, and she is happy to do it. “My life has been the Lord illuminating a path for me. It feels like the Lord has given me direction, but there have also been sharp turns. This feels like one of those sharp turns, but one that I am happy to take.”

A Heart for Discipleship

Formenti explains that she wants the co-curricular experiences outside of the classroom to be fun and educational but also formative to aid students in becoming more mature with robust faith in Christ. “I believe that community and ministry can be implemented in ways that are not only serious but in a way that is fun,” Formenti said. This new role will have lots of responsibility. Formenti will be overseeing several different aspects for the students and working with other leaders in those areas. “All of this I will be doing with the heart of discipleship,” Formenti said.

When asked about her goals in this new position, she says, “There is a lot I have to learn, and there is a great team in place which I want to learn from. I have ideas for the role, but I am also ready to support the good things which are already happening.” 

Most of this article was originally published in The Bagpipe, Covenant’s student newspaper.

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