NEW JERSEY PASTOR/BUSINESSMAN DAVID G. EVANS
IS RAISING A GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS AT HIS CHURCH
Church’s Unique Young E! Academy Is Training Today’s Youth To Become Tomorrow’s Business Leaders
Bishop David G. Evans was raised in
Chester, Pennsylvania’s Fairground Projects. His mother held
multiple jobs (while securing a master’s degree and
beginning her doctoral studies in education) to take care of
her sons. Evans’ dad wasn’t around and rarely sent any child
support. One time Evans and his brother needed some new
clothes. After paying their rent, and other essential bills,
Evans’ mother had no extra cash for new clothes - in spite
of her desire to buy them. “I promised myself that I would
not live life as an unsuccessful man,” Evans writes in his
new best-selling book Dare To Be A Man (Putnam) after that
episode. “I made up my mind to work hard, get an education,
and use all the negatives my father represented as a
springboard to greater things.”
Over the years, Evans has been tremendously successful as an entrepreneur. He’s been a bank vice president, co-founded the record label that gave Grammy winner Hezekiah Walker his start, launched a million dollar custodial business, and still owns a real estate title company among his varied enterprises. He’s also a Commissioner for the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Lincoln University.
As the pastor of 27,000 member Bethany Baptist Church in Lindenwold, NJ, Evans wanted to share with the congregation the skills that made him successful in business. In 2003, he launched The Young E! Academy to teach youth principles of finance and business. “Once a man discovers what it is that makes him special, no matter what that skill may be, he must move his mindset from that of punching a time clock Monday through Friday to that of an entrepreneur,” Evans writes in Dare To Be A Man.
The intense program requires an 18-month weekend commitment. It begins with helping youth identify their talents. Then, they decide how to turn that talent into a viable business. They research the market, create an operational plan, a marketing plan, a financial plan, and then put all of this to work with a case study or an actual business. One of the graduates of the program is teenager Jasmine Lawrence. She was one of the first E! Academy students and she has since created Eden Body Works, which has grown into a nearly million-dollar business that has earned her news coverage on The Today Show and Oprah. However, the foundational message here is that Jasmine’s story does not have to be unique. With the proper education and guidance, all youth can aspire to own and run their own businesses and Bethany Baptist is a church that feels this is a vital part of supporting and giving back to its community.
MEDIA CONTACT : Bill Carpenter at (202) 506-5051 or carpenterbill@me.com
Over the years, Evans has been tremendously successful as an entrepreneur. He’s been a bank vice president, co-founded the record label that gave Grammy winner Hezekiah Walker his start, launched a million dollar custodial business, and still owns a real estate title company among his varied enterprises. He’s also a Commissioner for the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Lincoln University.
As the pastor of 27,000 member Bethany Baptist Church in Lindenwold, NJ, Evans wanted to share with the congregation the skills that made him successful in business. In 2003, he launched The Young E! Academy to teach youth principles of finance and business. “Once a man discovers what it is that makes him special, no matter what that skill may be, he must move his mindset from that of punching a time clock Monday through Friday to that of an entrepreneur,” Evans writes in Dare To Be A Man.
The intense program requires an 18-month weekend commitment. It begins with helping youth identify their talents. Then, they decide how to turn that talent into a viable business. They research the market, create an operational plan, a marketing plan, a financial plan, and then put all of this to work with a case study or an actual business. One of the graduates of the program is teenager Jasmine Lawrence. She was one of the first E! Academy students and she has since created Eden Body Works, which has grown into a nearly million-dollar business that has earned her news coverage on The Today Show and Oprah. However, the foundational message here is that Jasmine’s story does not have to be unique. With the proper education and guidance, all youth can aspire to own and run their own businesses and Bethany Baptist is a church that feels this is a vital part of supporting and giving back to its community.
MEDIA CONTACT : Bill Carpenter at (202) 506-5051 or carpenterbill@me.com