Judging by its name, you would assume the purpose of
Financial Peace University would be to bring peace to your financial circumstances. And while harmony with finances is the primary goal of the Dave Ramsey nine-week course, it brought additional kinds of peace to one Summit family.
Jonathan and Marilyn took the classes as a perk of Marilyn’s job with a church when they were living in Miami. Marilyn thought the biblically based principles for managing money would be interesting and helpful. Jonathan wasn’t as eager. In fact, Jonathan, who wasn’t a believer at the time, admitted that he actually didn’t want to go.
“But after the first class, I thought, ‘this is pretty good,’” he said.
“It was eye-opening,” Marilyn said. “We weren’t in major debt, but it was never really well-thought out in terms of our finances or seeking God’s guidance or seeing it the way we do now, that we’re stewards of everything God has given us."
Jonathan and Marilyn not only learned financial principles that would help provide peace during the upcoming months, but Jonathan found the ultimate peace, which surpasses all understanding.
“It changed everything,” Jonathan said. “Taking the Financial Peace class was the path to accepting Christ.”
The peace of God and the lessons learned in the class sustained the couple through the trying time to follow, as Jonathan’s job was eliminated just months later. They knew God was in control and had prepared them, and they also trusted in His provision. They took the opportunity to move to Triangle, and both began new jobs on the same day. “It was the peace behind the financial,” Jonathan laughed.
Jonathan is now a volunteer in the stewardship ministry and a table leader for FPU. The class continues to impact their family. They have no debt and bought two cars without financing.
“You edit some things and make them your own, but the core principles are still there,” Jonathan said. “We’ve been more on-purpose about putting God at the center of all decisions, the stewardship part of it too.”
“In giving, in our tithes and serving... it can be used for God’s glory. Before, we had never been intentional about giving or being part of the mission through our giving, like [we are] now. And that all started through the class," Marilyn said.
Jonathan is known for talking about his experiences at work, and his co-workers can quote him: “You can’t have the financial without the peace.”
Indeed, it is
more than just financial peace.
Written by Mary Moorefield, volunteer writer.See our Events page for upcoming Financial Peace University classes.Get resources like this one directly into your inbox by signing up for the Stewardship Ministry Digest.