Biographical Background of Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson​

Kenneth Edward Stevenson, Jr. has shown outstanding promise and a commitment to improving his world since he was a youngster in the Homewood-Brushton area, an inner city Pittsburgh neighborhood.  He could have ended up like many of his friends there, unemployed or only marginally employed, had it not been for his parents determination to send him to the prestigious Central Catholic High School, and for his own determination to achieve.  To pay for the steep tuition of private school, Stevenson’s parents worked two jobs apiece, and Ken himself earned money through a paper route.  He won a contest for procuring the most newspaper subscriptions, and his paper route grew to become the largest in all Pittsburgh.  When he left for college, the route had to be divided among three different people.​

Following high school, Stevenson won a Congressional appointment to the Air Force Academy.  It was the beginning of a fourteen-year Air Force career which saw Stevenson graduate as one of only five blacks in his class of almost 700.​

After pilot training, Stevenson was assigned to the Strategic Air Command (SAC) as  a B-52 co-pilot and rapidly progressed to instructor-copilot one of only two In SAC to hold that position at that time.  He volunteered for combat duty in Southeast Asia and amassed almost 1200 combat flying hours and 210 combat missions.  He received ten Air Medals and three Distinguished Flying Crosses for his service.  He also advanced to command his own B-52 crew at the age of 25 and was one of the youngest commanders in  SAC.

Determined to improve himself academically, Stevenson was selected by the Air Force Academy to attend a Master’s program at the University of Pittsburgh and returned to his hometown.  While he was enrolled in this program, the University administration recognized his diverse talents and (while he was still a full-time student) asked him to establish and teach an undergraduate course in Black Literature.  He took on this responsibility in addition to serving as a Liaison Officer for the Air Force Academy.  Even with this full schedule, he finished his Master of Arts in English, Cum Laude, in only nine months.  Thereafter, he was assigned to the faculty of the Air Force Academy where he taught English and developed a special tutorial program for minority students.  He was promoted to the academic rank of assistant professor within two years of his appointment on the faculty.  Stevenson’s time in Pittsburgh was not easy, however; after enduring theft, vandalism, and racist threats, he became more committed than ever to improving the conditions of his home community.  In 1992, he obtained his first doctoral degree from the Friends International Christian University in California, and in 1994, obtained a second doctoral degree from the Christian Bible Institute in New Jersey.

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Always devoting much of his free time to community service, he was instrumental in re-establishing the annual Black Arts/Awareness Festival at the Academy, and served as Officer-in-Charge of the Commandant’s Way of Life Committee, which serves the needs of minority cadets.  Ken was also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and participated in a number of service projects through the organization.  He developed the group’s Thanksgiving program to feed the needy.  Unlike other programs, which use about 80 percent of their revenue for operating costs, the Kappa Alpha Psi program has no overhead and is conducted by volunteers using food donated by local merchants.  As a result of his contribution to the organization, Stevenson was elected to its Board of Directors and to the office of Historian after only one year with the fraternity.

In 1979, the U.S. Jaycees selected Stevenson as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of America along with then governor Bill Clinton and the late John Denver.  Congressman William S.  Moorehead of Pittsburgh, who previously granted Stevenson his Air Force Academy appointment, also recognized him in the Congressional Record for his outstanding achievements. From 1978 to 1985, Dr. Stevenson worked for International Business Machines (IBM) as a marketing representative and a corporate pilot, where he received the IBM 100% Club award for two consecutive years.

In 1985, Stevenson and his wife Mary Ann founded the Everlasting Covenant Christian Ekklesia in Dutchess County, New York.  What began as a small group bible study held in the couple’s basement, has grown into a culturally diverse congregation of over 700.

The Everlasting Covenant Christian Ekklesia has established a number of outreach ministries serving the surrounding community.  Among them is a bus ministry, which covers a 30-mile radius and provides families the opportunity to fellowship with other church members.  In addition, the bus ministry provides transportation for church members to visit hospitals, prisons, convalescent homes and shelters.  ECCE also maintains an outreach program that provides food and clothing to those in need year round, with special outreaches at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  They have assisted individuals numerous times in finding adequate shelter and employment, and they are involved in the Nationwide Teen Challenge program, which currently functions as a rehabilitation referral system in the Dutchess County Court system.  This program has influenced and changed many lives and given men and women the chance to be productive citizens.

In addition to the church and its ministries, in 1990 the Stevensons also established Everlasting Covenant Christian Academy, a private Christian school for the pursuit of excellence in all life disciplines.  Serving also as the school’s principal, Dr. Stevenson described the academy as a place that encourages its students to excel academically and develop the skills that are necessary to think logically, clearly, and independently.  It also provides a quality driven curriculum to position them for active, responsible lives as leaders in their homes, communities, state, nation, and the world.

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The Stevensons recognized that American society is experiencing a crisis in education, with new problems affecting larger portions of the school-age population.  Typical urban public school systems are not successful in preparing children for future leadership roles.  Many youth are besieged by a multitude of problems such as violence, drug use, broken homes, and dysfunctional families.  As a result, they are often unmotivated, withdrawn, rebellious, and apathetic.  They resent school, have poor self-images, and too often become serious problems for the school and for society.  Although educational failure is widespread in all communities, it exists in epidemic proportions in poor neighborhoods.  It is for the disadvantaged children that improvements in school quality will make the most difference in achievement.

Dr. Stevenson saw that one of the primary flaws in the current educational philosophy is the lack of involvement in student’s  personal and family lives, and a limited emphasis in critical thinking, social responsibility, and moral and character development.  He envisioned the Everlasting Covenant Christian Academy as a school in which children not only gain knowledge, learn to think critically and independently, and learn to be effective problem-solvers, but also as a place where the development of such skills will lead to feelings of confidence, self-worth, and love for oneself and other people.  In the context of school, love can best be thought of as a social responsibility.  When children do not learn to be responsible for each other, to care for each other, and to help each other, not only for the sake of others, but for their own sake, love becomes a limited concept.

ECCA advocates that schools are in a unique position to eliminate or at least greatly reduce children’s sense of unworthiness and loneliness.  During the 11 years that ECCA served the community, it was staffed by warm and successful people who greatly care for children.  It offered students the basic ingredients of self-worth through knowledge and thinking.  The Academy was organized to stimulate children to solve problems - academic, social and moral.  ECCA believed that even if a child failed in the past, he or she could succeed in the present.  The Academy also focused on critical thinking and artistic criticism through in-depth discussion, thinking that leads to critical appraisal of literature, art, movies, and television.  In addition, creative thinking also had an important place in the ECCA curriculum.  Students had the opportunity to express themselves through art and music.  By expressing their own ideas, based on their observations and experiences, they gained satisfaction from knowing that the Academy was interested in what they had to say.  In essence, ECCA advocated that all children be accepted as capable human beings, not handicapped by their environment.

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Since the first year of operation, ECCA elementary-age students consistently achieved post-high school level scores on standardized tests, including the Stanford and Otis Lenon Achievement Tests.  ECCA teachers were trained to instruct and interact with children from diverse cultural backgrounds and with unique individual needs.  The student-teacher ratio was five to one, allowing for a tremendous amount of teach input and individual attention for each student.  Open from 1990 to 2001, the school served an average of 50 to 60 students a year, initially in the elementary grades and expanding into a full Pre-Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade school by 2001. The school continues that tradition today as Covenant Christian School. Many of ECCA’s graduates went on to earn scholarships to such institutions as Drexel University, Hofstra University, and Delaware State University.

Dr. Stevenson has also published numerous works and appeared in, and hosted, several television and radio programs.  As Recording Secretary for the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), he accompanied the American scientific team to the Turin in October 1978 when it joined a select few international  scientists  to study this linen and analyse it for DNA and other evidence of its age, origins and use.  Many believe the shroud is actually the burial cloth in which the body of Christ was wrapped when he was removed from the cross.  Stevenson edited The Proceedings of the 1977 United States Conference of Research on the Shroud of Turin. and was the author and co-author of three internationally known best sellers in the United States on the subject : Verdict on the Shroud, The Shroud and the Controversy and Image of the Risen Christ…. Behold The Man…. Some of Stevenson’s other notable publications include Mind and Meditation; Money, Money, Money, Fourth Phase; Law, Liberty and the Pursuit of Godliness; and Hidden Wealth and Wisdom in the Proverbs.  He has also published poetry: the Writer’s Forum award winning poem, On Discussing Revolution with a Dedicated Sister  in 1979, and  JFK, a poem about the death of John F. Kennedy, published when Stevenson was only 16 years old.  He is also the author of On Eagles Wings, a treatment of the Gospel based on flying principles specifically designed to reach pilots.  Dr. Stevenson led two radio programs, Living the Covenant heard  and Let’s Talk Religion on WGNY, and appeared on Cornerstone TV and KDKA in Pittsburgh and Trinity Broadcast Network in Texas , Georgia, and California .He also served as host for the New York broadcast for 14 years. ….Public Report….

Always committed to improving the quality of life for the people of Pittsburgh, Stevenson has maintained close ties to the community.  He established a company - Covenant Development Corporation - to help develop small businesses in his home community, with a special focus on providing young people with work opportunities.  Several years ago, he was alerted to the sale of a Catholic Church complex  that included a school which was set for demolition.  He purchased the site outright and began a new congregation that  began to impact the community for the Kingdom of God……Along the way they also literally saved the school itself from the wrecking ball, determined to  transform it into a quality school that would serve Pittsburgh’s underprivileged youth.  After partnering with Edison Schools to operate the school, Stevenson amassed overwhelming community support for his vision by talking with community members and standing on the street corners of the neighborhood, securing thousands of support signatures.  Renaissance Academy of Pittsburgh Alternative of Pittsburgh of Hope-Edison Charter School opened its doors to students in the fall of 2003. After 4 years of academic excellence for some 240 students that saw the youngsters improve their math scores nearly 40% and reading scores nearly 30% , the district in a hotly contested decision chose not to renew the Charter despite RAPAH becoming a four-star school that made all “no child left behind goals. 

DR. Stevenson and his beautiful wife Mary Ann have been married more than forty years and currently reside in LaGrangeville, New York.  Since the opening of RAPAH, they have divided their time between Pennsylvania and New York, continuing to lead the congregations of the Everlasting Covenant, and to serve both the communities of the Hudson Valley and Pittsburgh.  They have four grown children, Jejchelle, Kenneth III, Sean, and Angela, and twelve grandchildren.​

VISION  

Dr Kenneth Stevenson has been committed to full time service for the Kingdom of God since 1984. Along with his wife, Dr. Mary A. Stevenson, they have founded two churches and two schools along the way. In ministry and education, they believe in imparting a standard of excellence to all they are called upon to serve. Their ministry has included missionary work in Guyana, Trinidad and Jamaica as well as missionary support to Africa: Ghana & Nigeria, Tambov, Russia, Israel, India and Sri Lanka.  

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EMPLOYMENT HISTORY ​

Teaching Experience
United States Air Force 1969-1978
Strategic Air Command (SAC), B-52 co pilot 1970-1974
SAC, Instructor 1972-1974  Aircraft Commander 1973-4
University of Pittsburgh 1974
Black Literature
Air Force Academy Liaison Officer
United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO 1975-1978
English; Black Literature

International Business Machines (IBM) 1978 to 1985
Marketing Representative, the IBM 100% Club 1979, 1980
Corporate Pilot, where he received award for two consecutive years

Everlasting Covenant Christian Ekklesia, Poughkeepsie, New York, 1985-present 
Founder, Senior Pastor

Everlasting Covenant Cathedral, Pittsburgh, Pa 1997-present
Founder, Pastor

Covenant Development Corporation 2000-Present
Co-founder, Executive

Everlasting Covenant Christian Academy, Fishkill, New York, 1990-2001
Founder and Principal

Renaissance Academy of Pittsburgh Alternative of Pittsburgh of Hope-Edison Charter School, 2003-2007
Founder- Board Chair

EDUCATION
Central Catholic High School, Pittsburgh, PA

United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO
1969, BS Engineering
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
1974 Teaching Certificate   
1975 MA, English Cum Laude

Friends International Christian University, CA
1992, Ministry, PhD
Christian Bible Institute, Bloomfield, New Jersey
1994, Divinity, PhD

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
1982 Airline Transport Pilot’s License, type ratings include instruments, commercial, single and multi-engine, Lear Jet and Gulf Stream
1985 Ordained Minister, North County Christian Center, SanMarcos, CA
1985- present  Ordained Minister    Victory Christian Center, Metairie, LA

AWARDS
1964, Life Scout, Boys Scouts of America, Pittsburgh, PA
1965 Congressional appointment to the Air Force Academy, Congressman William Moorehead
1977 Writer’s Forum Award for Poetry
1970-1973, heavily decorated Vietnam Veteran, top awards include ten Air Medals, three Distinguished Flying Crosses
1979, Ten Outstanding Young Men of America, U.S. Jaycees
1979 selected for White House Fellowship
1979 recognized by Congressman William Moorehead in the Congressional Record for his outstanding achievements.
1979 President of Marketing School
1980, 1981 IBM 100% Club 2 year recipient, achieving over 200%

PUBLICATIONS& Media
numerous radio and television appearances both International, National and local 1977-present as host, guest and creator
JFK, 1963. VA Newsletter
On Discussing Revolution with a Dedicated Sister, 1977. Writer’s Forum Award
1979-1981, People Magazine, Time, Life, Newsweek, US, Saturday Evening Post, National Geographic, Denver, New Orleans, Dallas, Guideposts, Think, Servant.
Major Media

1978-1981 Good Morning America
1978-1981 People Are Talking
1982 Today Show
1980 PM Magazine
1982 Discover (multiple documentaries)
1982, 700 Club, CBN
1983 Focus on the Family

!982 Eternal Word, Father Michael Scanlon
1984-present TBN, CBN, NBC
1984-2001 Praise the Lord, WTBN, Santa Ana, CA, Atlanta, GA, Dallas, TX
1984-2001 Praise the Lord, WTBY, Fishkill, NY
1985 Behold the Man, WTBN, Santa Ana, CA, (Producer, Narrator)
1986-2001 Living the Covenant, WGNY, Poughkeepsie, NY
1991-2001 Let’s Talk Religion, WGNY, Poughkeepsie, NY
1991-1995 Cornerstone TV, Pittsburgh, PA
1983-1984 Morning Show, KDKA, Pittsburgh, PA
1991-2001 Public Report, Poughkeepsie, NY​

BOOKS
On Eagles Wings, 1982 self published
The Proceedings of the 1977 United States Conference of Research on the Shroud of Turin, editor. 1977, DeRance through the auspices of the Holy Shroud Guild, New York, NY
Verdict on the Shroud, 1981, Servant Press, Detroit MI
The Shroud and the Controversy, 1989 Thomas Nelson, Nashville TN
Image of the Risen Christ, 2001 Frontier Press, Toronto, Canada
1990-1996. Mind and Meditation, Money, Money, Money, Fourth Phase, Hidden Wealth and Wisdom in the Proverbs, self published and distributed.  
Law, Liberty and the Pursuit of Godliness, 2002, Xulon Press, Longwood, FL

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Navigators
Commandant’s Way of Life Committee, Officer-in-Charge 1975-8
Kappa Alpha Psi, Board of Directors, Office of Historian 1976-8
Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), Recording Secretary 1977-81
USAFA  Alumni Association
University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association

LinkedIN

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INTERESTS
1977- 1981 Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP)
1981-present Shroud Independent study
1997- present Shroud Science Groups

REFERENCES
Rev. Frank Bailey, Victory Christian Center, Metaire, La
Dr Howard Slaughter, Pittsburgh Historic Landmarks Foundation, Pgh  PA
Atty Andrew Gross, Pittsburgh PA
Atty Rhoda Neft, Pittsburgh, PA
Rev David Taylor,  St Charles Luwanga, Pittsburgh PA
Dr Warren Steinberg, Westport Ct

Atty Thomas Gambino, Poughkeepsie, NY

Atty Kevin Gallagher, NYC, NY

Rev. Mother Superior, Carmelites, Lafayette, LA