Ministerial and business visionary, entrepreneurial trailblazer, altruistic philanthropist, and spiritual shepherd to millions around the globe, Bishop Thomas Dexter (T.D.) Jakes, Sr., founded Greater Emmanuel Temple of Faith, his first pastorate, in 1979. It was a small beginning, in a small West Virginia church, pastoring a small, 10-member congregation.
"Even in a profession peopled with multitaskers, Bishop Thomas (T.D.) Jakes stands out."
Time magazine, February 2005
Cover Article, "The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America"
Ministerial and business visionary, entrepreneurial trailblazer, altruistic philanthropist, and spiritual shepherd to millions around the globe, Bishop Thomas Dexter (T.D.) Jakes, Sr., founded Greater Emmanuel Temple of Faith, his first pastorate, in 1979. It was a small beginning, in a small West Virginia church, pastoring a small, 10-member congregation.
More than 25 years later, Bishop Jakes 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. In its 10-year existence, the church has grown from the 50 families that relocated with the Jakes family from West Virginia to Dallas to more than 30,000 members. Rivaling many corporations, the ministry employs nearly 400 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, retiring within four years the financial debt incurred by the 191,000 square feet, $45 million sanctuary construction.
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. In 2006, he celebrated 30 years in ministry.
Bishop Jakes is the CEO of The Potter’s House, a nonprofit organization that has produced four major national conferences – The Pastors’ and Leadership Conference, ManPower, Woman, Thou Art Loosed (WTAL), and MegaFest. 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 seeks to equip and encourage men to build strong marriages, increase their confidence, and take on more responsibility within their community. The Pastors’ and Leadership Conference is designed for individuals in church leadership positions and for those seeking to further develop their leadership skills. MegaFest, inaugurated in 2004, is a family-oriented Christian festival that combines Woman, Thou Art Loosed, ManPower and new components for children, teenagers, and young adults. The Mega Youth Experience (MYE), a component added to the conference in 2005, was created for young people ages 13 to 21, and is designed to inspire, inform, prepare, and empower Christian 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 2005, Bishop and Mrs. Jakes were honored by Georgia Dome officials for breaking their 1999 attendance record during MegaFest 2004 when more than 140,000 people attended a single service and over the four-day period the couple hosted 560,000 men, women, young adults, and children. MegaFest 2005 was broadcast internationally to more than 2/3 of the world’s population, broadcast live via satellite into 350 U.S. prisons, and into each prison in the country of Bermuda, with live dialogues in Chicago, Memphis, and Glennville, Georgia. In October 2006, Bishop Jakes announced that the ministry will not host a MegaFest 2007 conference, and will instead take a year-long sabbatical to strategically evaluate the focus of MegaFest 2008. The location of MegaFest 2008 is yet undetermined.
In 2006 Bishop introduced and hosted the first For Men Only conference, and in 2007, he and Mrs. Jakes will also host the first-ever For Ladies Only conference. In previous years he has also hosted both the God’s Leading Ladies and Into The Hearts of Men national speaking tours. Each of these conferences was conceived by Bishop and Mrs. Jakes’ desire to assist men and women in their efforts to become and achieve their personal best, and to allow themselves the opportunity to speak and teach more intimately into the lives of conference attendees.
Locally, the Metroplex Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is the most immediate example of the ministry’s impact on community business development. Endeavoring to remedy social and economic disparities, Bishop Jakes founded the 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 in April 2005 launched an entrepreneurial training series.
The MEDC NxLevel Entrepreneur Training Series is a 12-session, 36-hour course designed for entrepreneurs who require the hands-on business development assistance necessary to expand and grow existing businesses. The series is developed to provide practical instruction in business planning and development including, but not limited to, developing sound marketing strategies, understanding cash-flow projections and other financial statements, staffing considerations, lender negotiations, and more.
Clay Academy was founded in 1998 by Bishop Jakes, and has since grown from its small beginnings to its new 70,000 square-foot campus in the heart of South Dallas. On October 10, 2006, Bishop and Mrs. Jakes and The Potter’s House church family formally dedicated the school’s recently constructed $14 million learning facility to the memory of his late mother, Mrs. Odith P. Jakes, an educator and mentor. The first of seven structures in a planned $80 million campus, the white-columned, red-brick school building sits atop a hill at 3303 Potter’s House Way in Mountain Creek about half a mile west of The Potter’s House church.
Clay Academy inspires outstanding students from around the world to become tomorrow’s change leaders in a challenging and spiritual environment. Unlike any grade school in the country, Clay Academy doors are open to young people of purpose anywhere in the world who want to learn in an inspirational atmosphere of excellence. Clay Academy currently serves Pre-K3 through ninth-grade students, and is geared to have its first graduating class of seniors in 2010. Making Clay Academy a unique school and providing a template for education of the future, the school offers "virtual classrooms" and advanced technology that will allow instructors from around the world to educate its students. Clay Academy is a member school of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), and is recognized by the Texas Education Association. The foundation of the school’s curriculum is A Beka and Saxon, a Christian-based approach to theory and learning that is achieved through practicality.
Clay Academy offers the subjects of Bible, language arts, social studies, mathematics, sciences, technology, foreign language as well as exploratory and life skills lessons; and is currently establishing its own advanced placement (AP) and honors courses. Clay Academy rests in the heart of South Dallas and is the crown jewel of an advanced "new urbanism" model, Capella Park. The institution has a diverse student body, global satellite communications, virtual access library and classroom instruction that will equip young people with a global mission and a community perspective. More information about the MEDC and Capella Park can be found by visiting www.medc-dallas.org. More information about Clay Academy can be found by visiting www.clayacademy.org.
The outreach efforts of Bishop Jakes and The Potter’s House don’t tarry at the doors of the church, or even on the shores of the nation. 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 2003. The ministry is also responsible for contributing to the construction of a much-needed hospital in Belize, Central America, and has sent missionaries to northern Mexico, the Republic of Guyana, and other areas of the world where people are living under perilous physical and spiritual conditions. In February 2005, Bishop Jakes presented checks to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF from The Potter’s House and Clay Academy totaling $100,606.11. The contribution represented the largest tsunami relief donation received by UNICEF from a faith-based organization.
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