At the 2025 Midwinter Conference, North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS) honored Rev. Curtis Ivanoff MA ’08 with its Distinguished Alumni Award.

Ivanoff found community among his NPTS classmates and professors and remained connected after graduating by serving on North Park University’s Board of Trustees.

A fourth-generation Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) member in Alaska, Ivanoff served as an associate pastor at Unalakleet Covenant Church, then as campus pastor and director of admissions at Alaska Christian College before his election to the ECC’s Alaska Conference superintendency.

At Midwinter, North Park University President Mary K. Surridge described Ivanoff as a “gifted and faithful Covenant leader, a beloved North Park Theological Seminary graduate, and a wise and gifted counselor and friend.”

Ivanoff opened his acceptance speech with Psalm 147:1, which reads “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and praise is beautiful.” He noted the psalm serves as an anthem of his home church and an expression of his gratitude for receiving the award and being part of the ECC community.

He reflected on the Indigenous brothers and sisters who served and were friends with Swedish immigrant descendants—including his great-grandfather, who also studied at NPTS—mirroring the multiethnic mosaic of God’s kingdom that we see even more prevalently today.

Ivanoff then looked toward the future, highlighting other Indigenous Covenanters, including Tamara Ravelo, who will become the first Covenant-ordained Indigenous woman in June 2025.

“I rejoice and give thanks to God for the way He is shaping our church to reflect the mosaic of his kingdom, to give a representation to the world of hope, of life, and how walls can be torn down,” Ivanoff said.