Reverend Ike - Background

Background

Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II was born in Ridgeland, South Carolina, and was of African American and Indo (Dutch-Indonesian) descent. He began his career as a teenage preacher and became assistant pastor at Bible Way Church in Ridgeland, South Carolina. After serving a stint in the Air Force as a Chaplain Service Specialist (a non-commissioned officer assigned to assist commissioned Air Force chaplains), he founded, successively, the United Church of Jesus Christ for All People in Beaufort, South Carolina, the United Christian Evangelistic Association in Boston, Massachusetts (which was his main corporate entity), and the Christ Community United Church in New York City.

Known popularly as “Reverend Ike,” his ministry reached its peak in the mid 1970s, when his weekly radio sermons were carried by hundreds of stations across the United States. He was famous for his Blessing Plan--radio listeners sent him money and in return he blessed them. He said doing this would make radio listeners who did it more prosperous. In the 1990s, he was active on the Internet and in a syndicated television program.

He fully restored and owned the Christ United Church (“Palace Cathedral”) in Manhattan's Washington Heights section, formerly the Loews 175th Street movie theatre. Restorations included the seven-story high, twin chamber Robert Morton organ. The “Miracle Star of Faith,” visible from the George Washington Bridge, tops the building’s cupola. He was also the “chancellor” of the United Church Schools, including the Science of Living Institute and Seminary (which awarded him, his wife, and his son Doctor of the Science of Living degrees); the Business of Living Institute (home of Thinkonomics); and other educational projects.