Chicago Area School Believes Businesses Will Uplift Underserved Communities Around the World
The Joseph Business School (JBS) is embarking on an ambitious five-year mission to assist 100,000 entrepreneurs in scaling their businesses to $1 million. This campaign, set to launch on June 29, 2024, aims to rival the best offerings of elite institutions and reshape the global business landscape.
Led by Dr. Deloris Thomas, a Harvard Business School MBA graduate, JBS is a Christian institution founded by renowned evangelist Dr. Bill Winston in 1999. The school, located at 7600 Roosevelt Road in a once-abandoned shopping mall, now features a state-of-the-art worship center, technology hub, education institution, business incubator, and thriving shopping plaza. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, JBS is also kicking off a campaign to raise $25 million to provide full scholarships to students and entrepreneurs.
The launch event includes a 9 a.m. press conference followed by the 10 a.m. graduation ceremony for the Class of 2024, honoring 115 students, including 20 Spanish-language course graduates. Over the past 25 years, 2,326 students from five continents have completed the school’s entrepreneurship program. JBS, in partnership with APEX, has helped students secure more than $1.6 billion in government contracts, with over 50 graduates becoming millionaires.
Dr. Thomas emphasized Dr. Winston’s vision for the school to help entrepreneurs scale their businesses and eradicate poverty. “When you look at the average small businesses in the USA, the average revenue receipts are very low,” Dr. Thomas said. “They are sole proprietorships, producing under $100,000, and cannot afford to hire people. With a million-dollar business, they can create jobs and opportunities for others, and their companies can begin to scale.”
Named after the Biblical figure Joseph, JBS was established to eradicate poverty and create generational wealth using Biblical and practical principles. The school welcomes students committed to its faith-based education and community development mission.
David Ramseur, Dean of the Entrepreneurship Campus Program, highlighted the transformative power of JBS education, sharing a story of a graduate who moved from Cabrini Green to financial success. “Her family went from Cabrini Green to a million-dollar home in a Chicagoland suburb in one generation, and that is very touching,” Ramseur said.
Dr. Thomas cited Ezekiel 36:35 to illustrate the school’s vision: “This land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities have become fortified and are inhabited.” She added, “We believe we can help nurture the gifts evident in these underserved communities and turn them into entrepreneurial ventures whereby they can close the wealth gap in communities, their families, and the world.”
For information about the Joseph Business School, visit the school’s website at https://www.jbs.edu.
