Word: thousands
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Research Associates, 45% of respondents said they would be more likely to try financial services if they were sponsored by their church. And companies are eager to peddle their wares to such receptive audiences. Some firms, including Citigroup, Intuit and Freddie Mac, have signed on to work with One Thousand Churches. But others like Merrill Lynch--which quietly donated $30,000 to the program last month--seem hesitant to publicly affiliate themselves with Jackson's financial ministry...
...Jackson's pitch is nothing like Ike's. "These are not get-rich-quick schemes," Jackson says. "This is about learning to own your own home and to plan for your child's college education." Jackson readily admits, though, that he's targeting a potentially lucrative group: "A thousand churches is a substantial niche market...
Citigroup is offering graduates of the One Thousand Churches program six months of free checking and is considering a credit-card deal. Insurance companies, computer makers and Internet service providers are also coming to the table with special offers. Freddie Mac donated $1 million and developed One Thousand Churches' tutorials on credit scoring and home ownership. "The future of the housing market rests with minorities and first-time home buyers," says Willie Spears, an executive at New Orleans' Hibernia National Bank, "so in that respect we're being a little selfish...
Once churches pay to join One Thousand Churches, classes are free for individuals. But Bembry zeroes in on one goal of the program: "After you've got yourself in a position to do so, pay God first. Tithe 10%. Then pay yourself...
Having majored in finance, Bembry has more formal investment training than most One Thousand Churches ministers, who often tap church members with experience in the financial sector to run the classes. While most seminaries offer at least one business-oriented course on church management, fewer than 10% teach personal finance. "It's the great silent subject, a huge gap in pastoral training," says Dick Towner, who founded the Good $ense Ministry, in South Barrington...