Asbury Theological Seminary

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
610445823
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Wilmore, KY, USA
Phone
8598583581
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Graduate, Professional Schools (Separate Entities)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$50,655,245
Expenses
$44,324,886
Assets
$375,021,059
Liabilities
$4,612,129

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jay Mansur (Vice President)
  • Kevin Bish (Vice President)
  • Jay Barnes (Vice President)
  • Bryan P Blankenship (Vice President & Treasurer)
  • John Ragsdale (Vice President)
  • David Gyertson (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Timothy Tennent (Facalty): $246,714 total reported compensation
  • Jay Mansur (Vice President): $201,866 total reported compensation
  • Kevin Bish (Vice President): $177,530 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Asbury Theological Seminary is a community called to prepare theologically educated, sanctified, Spirit-filled men and women to evangelize and to spread scriptural holiness throughout the world through the love of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit and to the glory of God the Father.

What it reported doing in 2024

Asbury Theological Seminary enrolled over 1,800 students from 45 states and 43 countries through programs on its Wilmore, KY campus, its Orlando, FL , Tampa, FL, Memphis, TN, Tulsa, OK extension sites, and its online extended learning program. Degree programs are offered in master of arts, master of divinity, master of theology, doctor of ministry, doctor of missiology, and doctor of philosophy. Students come to the Seminary from 92 different denominations and churches. The top sending groups include the United Methodist, Nondenominational, Baptist, Assemblies of God, Salvation Army, Free Methodist, Nazarene, Anglican Church, African Methodist Episcopal, Christian Church, Wesleyan Church and Christian Missionary Alliance.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 66% for direct work, and 34% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.2%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 83%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.5%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.46; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.2% of revenue deployed · 83% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $36.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $247K · 32 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 46 of 46 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 33 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 25 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.