By Daniel Piotrowski
editor@jacksonvilleprogress.com
Central Baptist Church will hold Financial Peace University, the 13-week program taught by Dave Ramsey, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 17 in the main church building, 1909 E. Rusk St. in Jacksonville.
“We want to help people manage their money better, and get out of financial difficulties,” said Steve Edwards, the church’s education and missions minister.
The program is open to everyone in the community — both church and non-church members, he said. The fees for the classes are $100 and need to be paid in advance so they can order the materials for the course.
“The $100 is a lot of money but the program has helped people recoup that money pretty quick by using Dave’s principles,” he said.
Anyone interested can register at the church through Jan. 8, Edwards said. The church will be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, close for New Year’s Day and be open Monday through Friday for those wishing to register.
Edwards said 12 people have signed up so far and their ideal class size is 25-30 people because they don’t want it too large so they can have good discussions on the topics. If more people than that register, he said they would add more classes to keep them in that range.
Last year, 35 people attended the first Financial Peace University they have had at Central Baptist.
“I would say roughly 30 were church members and five were non-church members,” he said.
The classes will run from 4:30-6 p.m. each Sunday for 13 weeks and feature a 45-minute lesson with Ramsey on DVD. The kit that comes with the course contains a workbook, audio CDs of the course material and a code so participants can go the Ramsey Web site for more information. He said couples who register for the class can use the same kit.
Edwards said Central Baptist started the Ramsey class last year because of a desire to help people, not just church members, get out of debt. He said they don’t make money or break even but are doing it to help people.
“His (Ramsey’s) principles are based on Biblical principles,” he said.
Child care will be available for attendees of the course, Edwards said. They need to let the church know when they register.
Information from Ramsey press release stated Financial Peace University has helped more than 1 million families positively change their financial future. The program teaches families and individuals how to handle their money through common-sense principles and small-group accountability.
As attendees work on a Total Money Makeover, the average family pays off $5,300 in debt and saves $2,700 in the first 91 days after beginning and is completely out of debt, except for their mortgage ,in 18 to 24 months, the press release stated.
“We’ve actually relieved ourselves of more than $50,000 worth of debt in two years just from using these principles,” said Russ Lee, former Financial Peace University participant.
Ramsey began teaching the classes in 1994 every night in the Nashville, Tenn., area. In 1997, he made it available across the nation on video. Thousands of classes are held around the country today.
The 13 life-changing lessons are taught in a fun and entertaining way, the press release stated.
“I like to put the cookies on the shelf where everyone can reach them,” Ramsey says.
After the lessons, the group meets to help each other plan budgets, discusses successes and temptations, and support each other, the press release stated. The course covers: Saving for emergencies, budgeting, relationship and money issues, buying big bargains, getting out of debt, understanding investments and understanding insurance.
For more information or to register, contact Central Baptist Church, 1909 E. Rusk St., Jacksonville, or call Bruce Pittman at 903-363-3689 or contact him at brucegeoe@yahoo.com.
Some people may choose to register online at Ramsey’s Web site, www.daveramsey.com or by calling 888-227-3223.
