From buying a home to renting a car to getting a loan to start a small business, credit can impact one’s life in a variety of ways.

“The Power of Credit” will be the topic of conversation during a special event held at Spring Garden Missionary Baptist Church this Saturday. Featuring tips for financial literacy, building and repairing credit, and a variety of other topics, the event is offered for free through the church from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, preceded by a free community breakfast from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

“The goal of it all is to help empower the community,” said Spring Garden Pastor Aaron Lewis. “My hope is we can help people who are renting maybe find avenues to purchasing property. I believe if we can get people to purchase property in the area, they’ll take more of a stock in it and we can kind of build the neighborhood back up a little bit.”

Leading the event is former Northeast Elementary School principal Marquez Jackson, who now runs his own financial advising business, Trinity Financial Solutions. Jackson and his co-presenter, Johnnie Newsome, will share information about public records, judgments, bankruptcy, repossession, apartment/landlord issues, student loans, identity theft and medical bills.

Lewis says the event is in keeping with his church’s motto of being, “A friendly church in the heart of a friendly community.” By opening the church up to events like this, the congregation hopes to offer community members the tools and knowledge they need to live better lives.

“That’s our goal, to help as much as we can,” Lewis said. “We have to reach out to anybody and everybody in the community to see what they need and help draw them to us.”

The Power of Credit seminar and breakfast are both offered for free Saturday. To register, text “RSVP” to 904-900-0785.