Ten Ohio Churches Chipping in to Form CU

STARK COUNTY, Ohio – Ten predominantly African American churches in and around Canton, Ohio have joined forces to try and start a credit union, according to the Beacon-Journal, a paper that serves the Akron and Cleveland area. The pastors of the 10 churches have formed a Pastors’ Advocacy Coalition (PAC), the paper reported. The PAC proposes that each of the 10 congregations commit to giving its best first Sunday offering in the next year to establish an endowment or credit union. That money would be turned over to PAC during another unity service in December 2003. “We want to show the folks in our congregations the potential we have collectively to make an impact economically, socially and politically,” the Rev. Corey D. Johnson, of Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church told the paper. “If, once a year, we bring our best first Sunday offering to PAC, to invest in our community, we can make effective change.” Johnson says the model has been successful in other communities, including Philadelphia and Columbus. In those cities, the churches were able to secure matching funds from other financial institutions to carry out their missions.