Meet Our Alumni

The Lord is doing amazing things through his global church, and by extension, in the lives and ministries of Covenant Seminary graduates. Take a few moments to read this story – we hope you are blessed by what God is doing.

Meet Iho Tree (ThM ’08, pursuing DMin)

Why did you choose covenant seminary over other seminaries?

IHO: Covenant’s emphasis on Reformed theology and preparing leaders for a lifetime of ministry that is rooted in grace. I am a teaching elder in the PCA, and Covenant is the denominational seminary. Some of my church members attended Covenant Seminary and gave me excellent reports on the education they received. Covenant Seminary is known for training pastors.

Current ministry involvement and passions:

• Ministering among Chinese intellectuals in mainland China, which I have been doing since 1990.
• Providing discipleship training for church leaders in indigenous Chinese churches in China and the US.
• Participating annually in a short-term mission trip to China to conduct church-leadership training.
• Ministry vision/desire beyond seminary.
• Provide theological education/discipleship training inside China.
• Lord willing, start a seminary or even a Reformed denomination in China one day (a Presbyterian church, perhaps).

How has god used covenant seminary and the teaching here to shape and grow you?

IHO: I have a much better understanding of God’s sovereignty and his grace. This will impact me for the rest of my life. Prior to attending Covenant, I had pastored Chinese churches in North America for 12 years. I know my gifts are in teaching and discipleship training. In recent years, the areas in which I have had a deficiency in training (practical theology) became increasingly apparent. I found my deficiencies in those areas becoming a bottleneck in my ability to serve the Lord as effectively as possible and a hindrance to our church’s continued growth. Therefore I resigned from my pastorate and came to Covenant Seminary to pursue a ThM degree. I also audited a lot of MDiv courses. I have learned a lot from professors both in the classroom and from their lives. I decided to continue my training through the DMin program so I can better preach the gospel and serve the Lord.