Haleyville First UMC reaches out to community with ministry to strengthen personal financial health

According to a Jan. 11, 2006, article in USA Today in the year 2005 personal bankruptcy filings in the United States "surged 31.6% to a record 2 million" (figures from Lundquist Consulting). Haleyville First United Methodist Church is beginning to offer a ministry to help people in its community deal with the issue of personal financial stewardship.

Haleyville First UMC recently completed its first 13-week session of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.

"The results were awesome," says pastor John Simmons. "Over the period of 13 weeks the class paid off $71,000 of indebtedness, placed into savings $103,000 and cut up over two hundred credit cards."
 
According to the brochure, Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU) offers many benefits. It is designed so participants learn:

• How to put together a spending plan that really works,
  
• Step-by-step how to get out of debt,
  
• The security of any emergency fund,
  
• How to confidently invest for the future,
  
• To remove the stress that comes with financial problems,
  
• The secret to improving your marriage,
  
• How to make wise insurance decisions,
  

Rev. Simmons says, "Another session will begin soon. As we continue to minister to our own people at FUMC, we have also extended invitations to three other churches in Haleyville to participate.  Our vision is to offer FPU as a ministry to our entire city."

Financial Peace University is one video resource in the Conference Resource Center that is available to your church. Contact Doris McCullers for details.