T.D. Jakes
Ministerial and business visionary, entrepreneurial trailblazer, altruistic philanthropist, and spiritual shepherd to millions around the globe, Bishop Thomas D. Jakes, Sr., began fulfilling his call to the ministry in 1979 when he founded Greater Emmanuel Temple of Faith. It was a small beginning, in a small West Virginia church, pastoring a small congregation 10-members strong.
More than 25 years later, he pastors what Christianity Today calls "one of America's fastest growing mega-churches." The Potter's House, a multiracial nondenominational church with 50-plus active outreach ministries, has dominated church growth records since its inception in 1996. Within eight years, The Potter's House grew from the 50 families that relocated with the Jakes' family from West Virginia to Dallas to more than 30,000 members to-date. Rivaling many corporations, The Potter's House employs more than 300 staff members, including full-time finance, human resources, information technology, materials distribution, public relations, publications and television production departments. The Potter's House is fiscally sound, having recently retired the financial debt incurred by the construction of its 191,000 square foot, $45 million sanctuary - an accomplishment phenomenally achieved within four years.
Bishop Jakes was born in South Charleston, WV, on June 9, 1957. His parents, businessman and entrepreneur Ernest Sr. and educator Odith, were charitable benefactors in their community. It is to them that their son credits as the source of his own integrity, discipline, and self-reliance.
Bishop Jakes is the CEO of The Potter's House of Dallas, Inc., a nonprofit organization that has in recent years produced three major national conferences - "The Pastor's and Leadership Conference," "ManPower" and "Woman, Thou Art Loosed." A powerful and popular symposium, WTAL addresses the specific spiritual needs of women, speaks to their strengths, rather than their weaknesses, and empowers many to go from welfare to work, and from prison inmate to productive citizen. The WTAL conference set national indoor attendance records at the Georgia Dome in 1999 with an average 84,500 attendees per day. "ManPower," equips and encourages men to build strong marriages, increase their confidence, and take on more responsibility in their community.
"MegaFest," inaugurated in 2004, is a family affair that combines "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," "ManPower" and a new component for children, teenagers, and young adults. "Mega Youth Experience" (MYE), created for young people ages 13 to 21, is designed to inspire, inform, prepare, and empower our youth for today's world. "MegaKidz" offers fun-filled and interactive sessions throughout the day, presenting the Christian gospel to children ages 5 to 12 in an easily understandable format. In June 2004, Bishop Jakes broke his own Georgia Dome attendance record when "MegaFest" attracted more than 140,000 people from 55 countries, setting a cumulative record attendance of 560,000 over the four-day period. Through broadcasting efforts, "MegaFest" also impacted more than 314 million homes in 235 countries and territories outside of the U.S. "MegaFest 2005" is scheduled to take place August 3 - 6 in Atlanta, Georgia.
In addition to the major conferences, Bishop Jakes also hosts both the "God's Leading Ladies" and "Into The Hearts of Men" speaking tours, each conceived by his desire to assist men and women in their efforts to become and achieve their personal best.
Endeavoring to remedy social and economic disparities, Bishop Jakes founded the Metroplex Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) in 1998 to bridge socio-economic voids existing in urban America. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, MEDC works to impact the lives of individuals and families residing in historically underserved communities through the implementation of programs established under the umbrella of its core initiatives. The MEDC has sponsored home ownership conferences and youth mentorship programs, and has recently launched an entrepreneurial training institute in March 2005.
Clay Academy, also founded in 1998 by Bishop Jakes and dedicated to his mother's service as an educator, is a private, world class Christian college preparatory school where children are molded spiritually, academically, athletically, artistically, and technologically to achieve greatness through a focus on the "whole child." The school, which currently serves pre-K3 through 8th grade students, plans to extend its program through the 12th grade within the next few years. Clay Academy will centerpiece Capella Park, a residential subdivision currently under development featuring more than 1,000 single-family homes ranging in value from $100,000 to $500,000. The MEDC is the driving developmental force behind Capella Park. More information about the MEDC and Clay Academy can be found by visiting www.thepottershouse.org.
Additional attempts to contribute positively to society include financing and initiating the construction of two Habitat for Humanity homes in conjunction with the 2003 "ManPower" conference, and making a $107,000 donation to relocate Dallas citizens from an economically and environmentally disadvantaged area in 2004.
The Potter's House is also responsible for building a hospital in Belize, Central America, and regularly sends missionaries to northern Mexico, the Republic of Guyana, and to other areas of the world where people are in perilous physical and spiritual need. Most recently,
The Potter's House commissioned the construction of three water wells in Africa supplying desperately needed purified drinking water to people and livestock as well as valuable irrigation for crops. Wells were drilled in each of three Kenyan districts: West Pokot, Sigor, and Baringo, and dedicated by Bishop Jakes during a personal visit in January 2005.
In February 2005, Bishop Jakes presented checks from The Potter's House and Clay Academy totaling $100,606.11 to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. The bestowal represented the largest tsunami relief donation received by UNICEF from a faith-based organization.
Bishop Jakes and The Potter's House have invested more than $500,000 in outreach to prison inmates. The church's Prison Ministry develops programs and services that equip, empower, support, and restore offenders and former offenders. To help them with their journey, this support is also offered to families of offenders and correctional staff. Local churches are provided training to better embrace and support former and current prisoners and their family members. Their "Adopt A Prison" program has meaningfully impacted the day-to-day lives of inmates, and contributes significantly in reducing the recidivism rate of program participants through spiritual support and a network of churches sympathetic to the plight of inmates reentering the system. Every ministry conference, including "MegaFest," is broadcasted live into prisons around the country.
Recently the church initiated The Texas Offenders Reentry Initiative (T.O.R.I.) program, scheduled to operate in Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin, with plans to expand into Houston. These cities were chosen because they are Texas' five primary "reentry points," cities where former offenders reenter society after serving their sentences in Texas prisons. The TORI program will offer former offenders such services as substance abuse education, family and marriage counseling, pre-employment counseling, and help enrolling low-income families in state and federal support programs.
Bishop Jakes is the founder of T. D. Jakes Enterprises through which he employs his other aptitudes as author, songwriter, and playwright. A renowned religious author with more than 30 books to his credit, his work has been featured on Christian, secular, and business oriented best-seller lists. His top five nonfiction bestsellers are: "Maximize the Moment;" "Woman, Thou Art Loosed;" "The Lady, Her Lover and Her Lord;" "The Great Investment: Faith, Family and Finance," and "God's Leading Lady," which peaked at #4 on the New York Times hardcover advice list. He released his first novel, "Cover Girls," in the summer of 2003, and later that year, "Follow the Star," a compilation of his favorite personal Christmas stories. Released in 2004 and peaking at #10 on the New York Times bestseller list, "He-Motions: Even Strong Men Struggle," is a tool for both men and women written with intimate personal stories and painful lessons he learned through life. Released in January 2005 is his most recent book, "The Ten Commandments of Working in a Hostile Environment."
He has developed business partnerships with Sony, EMI, Time Warner, Warner, Rueben Cannon Productions, Clear Channel, Thomas Nelson Publishing, and a host of other highly respected corporations.
Under the T. D. Jakes Enterprises umbrella, Bishop Jakes is the visionary behind Touchdown Concepts and Dexterity Sounds. Touchdown Concepts, his theatre production company, created and produced the Christian plays "Woman, Thou Art Loosed" and "Behind Closed Doors." Both became No. 1 gospel plays in the United States. Recently his advocacy for women's rights enabled him to develop the cinema production "Woman, Thou Art Loosed: The Movie," with Rueben Cannon Productions, which debuted in more than 400 theaters across the nation and won the 2004 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. It also won a 2005 NAACP Image Award for best independent or foreign film. Based on his book "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," the movie speaks out against domestic violence while encouraging women to rise above injustices. It was released on DVD in March 2005.
His music label, Dexterity Sounds, develops music with a divine message and operates in collaboration with EMI Gospel Music. Thus far, the label has produced eight albums, six of which have received Grammy nominations. His music CD "He-Motions" received a 2005 Grammy nomination in the "Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album." A companion piece to the "He-Motions" book project, the CD features EMI Gospel/Dexterity Sounds' gospel artist Micah Stampley, who is planning his debut album, "The Songbook of Micah." In 2004, "T. D. Jakes Presents Follow the Star" was nominated in the category of "Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album," and "A Wing and a Prayer" featuring Bishop Jakes and The Potter's House Mass Choir, received a 2004 Grammy award in the "Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album" category.
Presidents and international statesmen have frequently asked Bishop Jakes for his wisdom and counsel. He was the keynote speaker for the Congressional Black Caucus in 2000. He has received several invitations to the White House from both President George W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton to provide insight to their administrations. He has also shared spiritual guidance with President Rawlings of Ghana and President Obasanjo of Nigeria. He was a guest of the King of Jordan, King Abdullah; the President of Trinidad, George Maxwell Richards, and in January 2005, the president of the Republic of Uganda, Yoweri K. Museveni, and his wife, Janet Museveni welcomed him into their home. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush requested Bishop Jakes join him in a meeting with 35 other religious leaders to discuss the tragedy and how to recuperate from it. He has also met with a coalition of ministers at the White House to discuss the faith-based initiative.
Bishop Jakes has been a guest on several national news programs as a source of spiritual advice such as: "Oprah," CNN's "People in the News," "Larry King Live," CBN's "Turning Point International," "America's Black Forum," "Ebony" and "D" magazines, and a host of other national publications and television organizations. Dubbed, "America's Best Preacher" by Time magazine in September 2001 as, "A virtuoso and a prodigy. The only thing more exhilarating than the style of T. D. Jakes' sermons is their rigor and compassion."
February of 2005, Time magazine named him among the U.S.' "25 Most Influential Evangelicals." Bishop Jakes lives in Dallas with his wife Serita and their five children. For more information about Bishop Jakes, The Potter's House, and MegaFest 2005, visit www.thepottershouse.org or www.mega-fest.com. |
