Great Commission University Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 851562918
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-T 2021
- Location
- Howe, IN, USA
- Phone
- 5156610930
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- University or Technological Institute
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,117,167
- Expenses
- $1,022,190
- Assets
- $1,131,889
- Liabilities
- $262,609
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MATTHIAS GEBHART (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- MATTHIAS GEBHART (PRESIDENT)
- ERIC HYOUNGGUN KWON (CFO)
- ANTHONY CHIU (CHAIR)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Gcu serves the global church by educating mission leaders to fulfill the great commission of jesus christ. Gcu accomplishes this mission through a comprehensive program of biblical and general education, christ-centered service and support, and applied scholarship in practical environments. Gcu offers these environments through christian ministries that support the university.
What it reported doing in 2024
Our main program service is our educational program, divided into the bachelor in theology. The total enrollment in both programs is approximately 50 students (about 30% in the mdiv, 70% in the ba program). Ojective of our education is to raise these students as capable mission leaders, leading churches and ministries in different cultural, sociological and geographical contexts globally. We achieve this objective through a sound academic theological education paired with spiritual formation programs and ministry practice. The quality of our programs is assured through our accrediting agency tracs (transnational association of christian colleges and schools), with whom we hold the status as applicant and are in the process toward candidacy. Our students are those directly served by our programs - through these students, by equipping and raising them according to the skillset mentioned above, we serve inderectly a far greater number of people of different ages, gender and social backgrounds. Since all of our students are actively involved in ministry and church activities in the context of global missions they are already impacting a considerable number of people around them, in direct personal engagement and virtually through online activities. Our students are serving in currently about 20 different countries across latin america, africa and europe. By providing our programs to them the scope of our work stretches across these large continents, and through our students' continuously growing missionary activities, the indirect scope of our work reaches far beyond our students' immediate locations.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
- 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 54
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.9%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 92.8%; rating input score 93
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 8.5%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.11; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 41.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 26.7% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 32.3% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84.9% of revenue deployed · 92.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $949K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.