Career Care at Church Features

A UMNS Feature
By Susan Passi-Klaus*

1:00 P.M. EST November 7, 2011

Volunteer Jerry Prophitt (right) welcomes a newcomer to the Roswell
United Methodist Job Networking Ministry with a gentle touch and a kind
word. UMNS photos by Kathleen Barry. View in Photo Gallery

Katherine Simons sees it all the time. Hopelessness.

She sees it on the faces of the thousands of out-of-work people who walk through the doors of the Job Networking Ministry that Simons organizes twice a month at Roswell United Methodist Church in the Atlanta suburb.

“That look” is all over their faces. Their smiles are forced. Their eyes are intense. Anxiety has carved lines into their foreheads.

“Stress has drained the life out of them,” Simons said.

“These are people who have run out of money. They’ve run out of direction. They’ve run out of options. They’re discouraged. They’re worried. And they’re afraid.”

Dragged kicking and screaming

Charlie Brown was one of those people.

It wasn’t long ago — a little more than two years — that the unemployed computer programmer was dragged, “kicking and screaming,” to the Roswell meeting.

Charlie Brown
View in Photo Gallery

“I didn’t want to go,” he said, “But the person who was pushing me to go wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I was so miserable and so depressed at the time; I guess I just gave in.”

Unemployment was a shock to Brown, who had worked since he was 18 years old. When he was laid off in 2008 at age 51, it was the first time he’d ever been without a job.

“No recruiters would talk to me,” he said. “In fact, no one was interested in talking to me. Everyone was saying, ‘no, no, no,’ to everything I had to offer. There just were no jobs.”

Brown spent the next several months going back repeatedly to Roswell. He called it a “university.”

“I felt like a freshman on campus for the first time because there was so much stuff going on,” he laughed. “I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know what to do. I was just lost.”

On the other side

Eventually, he made it through several of Roswell's workshops on writing résumés, interviewing and job searching for baby boomers. He got his résumé reviewed and revised. Had his picture taken for LinkedIn. Started networking. He may have come in without a to-do list, but he left with many self-improvement assignments.

Bob Kashey
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“My skills had gotten old and stale, so I did a refresh,” he said. “I spent a year attending classes, seminars and doing self-study, all to bring my skill set up to current.”

But more than getting an education in the ABCs of searching for a job, Brown said he learned about himself and the kind of person he wanted to be.

“I wanted to be somebody whom others wanted to be around, and the way to do that was to become a more positive person,” he said. “Up until then, I was always angry, and I was wallowing in it. And I had a lot of fear. I was afraid I was going to fail my family. It was a terrifying time.

“But,” said Brown, “I learned to stay cheerful. To laugh out loud more often. To tell funny stories. The more entertaining you are to people — even potential employers — the more attractive you are.”

Brown said he knew a positive attitude was an asset, especially as a boomer trying to make his mark in a competitive job market.

“You can bridge the age gap if you're someone people enjoy spending time with,” he said. “You're only as young as you act. You have to show people you're willing to continue to grow on a spiritual, educational and personality level.”

But it wasn't easy.

“The hardest thing you can do is put on a happy face,” he admitted. “But you have to. You can't just sit around being upset. You've got to let go. You've gotta work your way through it.”

A “job networking prayer basket” receives a prayer request
and an expression of hope. View in Photo Gallery

You’re more than your job

Bob Kashey, a volunteer with the Roswell program, knows how hard it is for job seekers to get to the mental and spiritual place of which Brown speaks.

“People walk in here with an overwhelming fear because they've never been out of a job,” Kashey said. “They've grown up in a society that says, ‘You are as successful as your job,’ and they truly think their success is tied to what they do. When you take that away from them, they have nothing to fall back on, so they fall hard.”

While Roswell's program may focus on making attendees “job-search ready,” the pep talks and prayer prep their souls for what's ahead.

“We teach them to focus on the content of your character — that's what makes you successful,” said Kashey. “We need to get away from the stereotype that says ‘my job as such and such’ or ‘the XYZ Company is my life and I'm going to work at it 12 hours a day and never see my kids.’

“That way, when they walk into job interviews, they have their priorities straight, and they're not worried,” he said. “They're able to be themselves and let their light shine through — and be passionate about what really matters.”

Charlie Brown now has good news to share with the job seekers who have become his friends at the Roswell career ministry meetings. He was recently hired as a software engineer in the Atlanta area.

But finally having the “un” removed from his “employed” status won't keep him away from Roswell where he's committed to giving back as a volunteer.

“Sometimes God's plan is not about what we want,” Brown said. “Look at Job and Jonah. God dragged them, kicking and screaming, as he did me, to a place we didn't want to go, but in the end, it was better for us. In my case, it wasn't only better for me, it's (also) better because maybe I can help others.”

Learn more about job ministries.

*Passi-Klaus is a public relations specialist/writer at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

By Susan Passi-Klaus*

3:00 P.M. EST October 26, 2011 | ROSWELL, Ga. (UMNS)

Curt Engelmann (left) prays with Jim Jimenez, an unemployed baby boomer who attends sessions and volunteers at Roswell (Ga.) United Methodist Church. A web-only photo by Susan Leonard, Roswell United Methodist Church.

Believe it or not, there is good news for unemployed baby boomers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more 55-plus workers will be toiling away in the work force by 2020 than at any other time in our history. Only problem is, it’s not soon enough.

Especially for people like Jim Jimenez of Alpharetta, Ga. A human resources and operations professional for more than 30 years, Jimenez has been unemployed since July 2008. The 51-year-old is anxious to get back in the field he loves, but sooner rather than later.

“There’s a fear,” Jimenez said, “that I will never again get to do the things I was so truly good at.”

Luckily, Jimenez has Curt Engelmann and Roswell United Methodist Church in his corner. Engelmann is just one of a passionate army of volunteers on whom the Georgia church counts to staff its successful job-networking ministry. His specialty is baby boomers, and his two-hour “Boomers’ Winning Strategies” seminar always has a crowd eager to hear how they can rev up their job-search game.

Rosalyn Davis-Smith listens to job advice from Steve Norton, a volunteer with Roswell’s Job Networking Ministry. UMNS photo by Kathleen Barry.
View in Photo Gallery

According to the Department of Labor, it takes older workers longer to find a job — 52 weeks as opposed to the 35 weeks it takes younger people. 

Part of the reason, explained Engelmann, is that older job seekers battle perception problems by most employers who see them as overqualified, inflexible, transitioning into retirement and perhaps a threat to younger managers because they may have more training than the person doing the hiring.

“Being an older and over-qualified job seeker is an elephant in the room,” said Engelmann. “Boomers are afraid to address it formally, but I believe they should be proactive and get the issues out in the open.

“They do that by developing stories in advance that show they are a good fit for the job and then telling how they are the opposite of the hiring manager’s perceptions of an older job seeker.”

Market yourself as a 'product'

Jimenez said employer perceptions have been an uphill battle in his three-year job search.

“Some employers think anybody who has been in a higher-level position is only interested in their job until something better comes along,” he said. “Or they think that people in their 50s are just looking for a bridge to retirement, that we’re not committed to a career.

“I have a hard time convincing them that I never want to retire fully,” Jimenez said. “I have a lot of knowledge to pass along to people who don’t have my experience.”

Engelmann tells his class of boomers that they need to get specific about how they market themselves. They need to think of themselves as a “product.”

“Boomers,” he lectures, “are like General Motors.” They have so much experience that they can be any car the company wants them to be, but companies today are looking for a specific car — like a Corvette.

“Boomers need to organize their background and experience so that it’s clear to the employer that they have all the parts they need for the Corvette. They can’t leave it up to the employer to sort through their background to find the fit — it’s overwhelming for the employer.”

In fact, Engelmann tells his classes that because of the high volume of résumés recruiters receive, most say they spend less than 10-15 seconds reviewing each résumé.

“I tell job seekers that all the key information that determines whether they qualify for a position should be in the first five inches of their résumé,” Engelmann said.

If they finally get an interview, older job seekers need to focus on the requirements of the position, not just touting their own qualifications.

“Back to the General Motors analogy — it’s all about the Corvette,” he said. “The job seeker needs to identify what car the employer wants to buy and focus on being that fit.

“It’s not what the boomer has to sell; it’s what the company wants to buy.”

Learn more about job ministries.

*Passi-Klaus is a public relations specialist/writer at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

By Kathy Gilbert*

1:00 P.M. EST October 24, 2011 | ROSWELL, Ga. (UMNS)

Emeral Duncan wipes away a tear following the dinner blessing at RUMC Job Networking, Roswell (Ga.) United Methodist Church’s career ministry. Duncan recently lost his job as a software programmer. A UMNS photo by Kathleen Barry.
View in Photo Gallery

“I have $800 left. No house, I’m living with a friend. I’m lost. I’m scared.”

“I have been without a job for a year. I never thought it would happen to me.”

“I’m technically homeless. I travel back and forth from my sister’s place and my parents’.”

Clay Redmon, 43; Lisa L. Lampkin, 53; and David Hampe, 25, came to Roswell United Methodist Church on a rainy Monday afternoon because they need help: They need a job.

Every second and fourth Monday, the doors at Roswell are wide open for job seekers. Dinner, understanding, encouragement and networking are all served free.

“With dinner, we think we set something in motion that says we care. There’s white tablecloths. There’s real silverware. And it all starts with that handshake when you first walk in the door,” says Jay Litton, founder of RUMC Job Networking.

On a gloomy autumn day, more than 350 people streamed into the church for a full menu of workshops and advice. Many walked out with an armload of assistance: proper business attire, a professional photo to post on LinkedIn or other job websites, a polished résumé and assurance that people would pray for them.

Lampkin said her main reason for coming on this day was for encouragement. “I got up today, and I just wasn’t motivated to go look for a job. I’m feeling kinda like the weather.”

Jay Litton, founder of the RUMC Job Networking ministry at Roswell (Ga.) United Methodist Church, says ministry doesn’t need a lot of people or activities, it just needs commitment.
View in Photo Gallery

You are not alone

Walking into a large room filled with round tables, a bustling kitchen, a buffet line, a stage and a large screen projecting instructions and directions about opportunities available for the evening can be a bit overwhelming. Volunteers are standing by, ready to offer a warm welcome.

“The new seekers walk through the door with a deer-in-the-headlights look because they walk into a room that is much larger than they thought it would be,” says Bob Kashey, one of the table leaders and an inspirational speaker. “And we wind up feeding the souls and the tummies of 350 job seekers.”

Encountering John Harper immediately puts the job seeker at ease. Harper has been the greeter and a volunteer with the ministry since 2001.

“I watch their faces coming down this walkway,” he says. “You can tell the mood of many of them. Apprehensive. Many of them are concerned about how they’re going to make payments on their house or their car. I’ve had enough family members to be among the unemployed to know the stress that places on a family.”

The volunteers have two goals, Harper says. “We try to make people understand that number one, God will hear you and God will help you. And number two, you’re not alone.”

Louis Gruver, a job seeker, remembers his first night at the ministry.

“I didn’t really want to do this,” he said. “But I knew that I had to. And, you know, Mr. Harper was at the front door. And he shakes your hand and says, ‘Welcome.”

Redmon was one of the newcomers Oct. 10.

“I had to be very humble to come here because at one time, I had a lot of money. Now I have $800 left,” he said. “I won’t feel bad to tell somebody I got this great suit from Roswell United Methodist Church. I will brag on them on Facebook tomorrow; I will tell all my friends to give ‘em a try.”

Katherine Simons, coordinator of the job-networking ministry, talks with Tyrone Griffin, who just got a job. “I used to tell people, I will land a job when you land a job. God knows when that is. You don’t know,” Griffin says.
View in Photo Gallery

From a mustard seed

The well-oiled machine that today is RUMC Job Networking wasn’t always so large.

Litton remembers when it was just him and another man looking for a job.

In the beginning, prayer was not a part of the program. Leaders reasoned that since the meeting was open to the community, the church didn’t want to offend anyone. For a while that was OK with Litton also because he wasn’t a member of the church and wasn’t a professed Christian.

When he turned his life over to Christ, he realized he could turn the job-networking group into a job-networking ministry. Prayer became a key ingredient.

Ministry doesn’t need a lot of people or activities; it just needs commitment, he says.

For a long time, the ministry ran with five volunteers ministering to 60 to 80 job seekers, says Katherine Simons, program coordinator.

In 2010, the United Methodist North Georgia Annual (regional) Conference asked Roswell to hold a conference to teach other churches how to start similar ministries.

More than 200 people from 80 churches of all denominations attended the February conference. In preparation, the team put together a book, "Loving Your Neighbor," with stories from 34 volunteers who were passionate about the program.

Prayer warriors stand by to pray with job seekers in the small chapel used for the job-networking ministry.
View in Photo Gallery

Since then, part of the Monday evening sessions includes a workshop led by Simons on how to start a job-networking ministry.

“I constantly remind everyone that you can have a … complete career ministry with just a handful of volunteers,” she says.

Simons says they don’t count success by the number of people who find jobs but, rather, by the number of people who walk out seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

Dismal news

Job seekers come in the door beaten down by the constant bombardment of bad news.

The Department of Labor reports more than 2 million people have been jobless for at least two years, and 700,000 have been looking for work for at least three years.

The government just announced the “misery index ”– the country’s inflation plus unemployment rates – rose to 13 percent, a 28-year high. The jobless rate has been stuck at 9 percent for months and is forecast only to drop marginally by year-end.

News like that doesn’t help morale, says Phil Clark, sitting at the table reserved for the age 21-29 group. Most of the group members are recent college graduates.

Clark thought he was going to be starting a new job and would have great news to share at the meeting, but the offer was retracted because the corporate office decided it would not be hiring any more people from the Atlanta area.

“Jesus never said life would be easy,” says Trevor Nunnally, another group member.

Volunteer Bob Kashey shares his story with job seekers as a table host and an inspirational speaker.
View in Photo Gallery

Monday night blitz

The twice-monthly programs are from 5:45 to 9 p.m. Bonus workshops are from 1 to 5:30 p.m.

Crossroads Career Workshop – a nonprofit organization designed to help churches minister to people at a career crossroads – is a four-hour, fast-paced, six-step plan for finding a job.

Other early afternoon workshops range from "Boomers’ Winning Job Strategies" to "Why Should I Hire You?"

Dinner starts at 5:45, which includes an inspirational speaker and a quick Bible study. Table hosts use that time to discuss God and faith’s role in the job hunt.

On this night, Rusty Gordon is on stage with good news from Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Mark Reynolds, who hosts the 21-29 table, encourages the group to listen to Gordon. “Rusty has been through what we have been through.”

All the right stuff

Many of the volunteers know what it is like to be jobless or to lose a job or business after 10 to 20 years of loyal employment.

Kashey has an especially compelling story to share. He started having panic attacks when he was 20 that lasted until he was 40.

“I took menial jobs at minimum wage because I had to be in a job where I could avoid people,” he says. His anxiety got to the point where he couldn’t leave his house. He finally broke down and prayed, and God “heaped an unbelievable level of passion on me.”

People share stories of devastation in their lives made different when they let God take control, Kashey says.

Brian Barnard, a first-time visitor to the job-networking ministry, reviews his résumé at a table of young adults.
View in Photo Gallery

“The ministry is very successful. We get emails from people that have come here for eight, nine, 10 months and then get a job. And the first thing they do is … send an email to Katherine and Jay Litton saying, ‘I just got hired and thank you so much for what you guys do.’

“I come here to feed these people, and I leave my table well fed because just the way they react to me. You can see the smiles on their face as they hit aha moments.”

Opportunities to serve

Service is a large part of the 7,000-member United Methodist church. Once a year, on Laity Sunday, the volunteers are celebrated, and everyone is asked to commit to a service opportunity.

On Oct. 9, the Rev. Mike D. Long asked people “prayerfully (to) consider where God is calling you to serve in the church, the community and in missions.” The goal for this year is to have 1,750 people “plugged in,” he says. There are 1,500 volunteers now.

Simons says the volunteers for the job-networking ministry are chosen with care, taking into account their gifts and talents.

“When we talk to a volunteer … we’re asking, ‘Would you like to volunteer with this ministry because you just have all the right stuff?’ Everything that you have ever learned in your whole life can be put to work in this one ministry.”

Some volunteers are perfect as table hosts; some are good at reviewing résumés; some are the perfect servers, Simons says. Roswell now has 360 volunteers in the job-networking ministry.

Chris Gilliam with Crossroads Career leads an afternoon workshop.
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Industry advice

Not everyone who volunteers actually attends the Monday meetings. The industry guide program has 160 volunteers who are employed and willing to take a 15-minute phone call from anyone who wants to learn more about their company or job.

“It’s not that we have jobs for you directly, but we know that there’s a simple fact about getting a quality job which is it’s not gonna happen from sitting back and sending out résumés on a website and clicking links and emailing. It’s gonna happen through direct person-to-person contact,” says Michael DuBois, a director of information technology and one of the church members who volunteers as an industry guide.

“The first thing I want to do is make sure they feel comfortable because it’s hard. I mean, picking up the phone and calling a stranger, regardless if it’s in the guise of the church or not. It’s not an easy thing to do.

“We offer a lot of great programs, but as soon as somebody walks in our door or makes that phone call and makes contact with one of us, they know there are people out there that love them. And that’s because there’s a God out there that loves them.”

Julie Mizer couldn’t sleep at night for worrying about the people who needed jobs and had no proper business clothes. Thus Attire for Hire, a boutique of gently used business suits, is set up in a Sunday school classroom.

“At the Attire for Hire Closet, we try to help people in their career search to wear appropriate professional attire to their job interviews,” says Mizer. “We know that sometimes people that have been out of work may not have extremely up-to-date clothing. We try to help them put together an outfit that’ll be appropriate for whatever kind of job they’re interviewing for.”

Lisa L. Lampkin (left) tries on skirts in the Attire for Hire clothing closet at Roswell (Ga.) United Methodist Church with assistance from volunteer, Julie Mizer.
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On a typical night, 15 to 20 men and women come in looking for a particular size and asking about the right thing to wear to an interview.

“If we can,” Mizer adds, “we will dress them head to toe. For gentlemen, we’ll try to do tie, shirt, slacks. For women, we’ll try to do a suit, a dress or slacks – even handbags or shoes, if we have them.”

An event

“Every second and fourth Monday is an event,” Litton says. Simmons agrees. “It takes 70 pairs of feet on the ground in order to keep this running at the level we’re at today.”

Over the last 10 years, it has grown to the point where up to 450 people have come on a Monday to Roswell, looking for help. Litton says many people in the church have volunteered in this ministry for five to 11 years.

“When you’re at the dinner tables and you’re a volunteer or you’re hosting that table of, let’s say seven or eight people, you’re now talking about Christ to seven people you’ve never met before. And I don’t know about you, but where else do you find those opportunities?” Litton asks.

DuBois says 11 years ago, he and his wife were drawn to Roswell because of the strong sense of service.

“What greater need is there right now than helping the unemployed?” he asks.

That works out great, Litton says. “What’s pretty cool about United Methodists is that they want to serve.”

At the end of the night, Lampkin left feeling hopeful and smiling.

“Tomorrow will be a better day.”

Learn more about job ministries.

*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

By Kathy Gilbert*

7:00 A.M. EST October 25, 2011 | ROSWELL, Ga. (UMNS)

Zia Griffin, 25, smiles as she looks at a photo taken by Bruce Kromer. Kromer, professional photographer and volunteer, loves to make job seekers smile as he helps them complete their profiles. UMNS photos by Kathleen Barry.
View in Photo Gallery

Emily Hatcher, 26, is working overtime to find a job.

She keeps a strict schedule. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday she spends six to eight hours applying for jobs. The other days of the week, she sharpens her skills by taking computer classes online and networking.

The college graduate with a degree in early childhood education works as a babysitter and a substitute schoolteacher.

“I put maybe 200 résumés in before I actually get a call,” says the pretty, quiet young woman, dressed for success in dark sweater, skirt and sensible shoes, attending RUMC Job Networking, a ministry of Roswell United Methodist Church.

“Most of the girls I know are nannies, looking for other jobs,” she says. “It is difficult because of the economy. I know a lot of people my age are looking for other jobs not in their field.”

A dire need

Hatcher is part of a job-networking group that meets at the church every other Monday.

Job seekers Emily Hatcher (right) and Clay Redmond look through the Attire for Hire boutique to select business suits for job interviews.
View in Photo Gallery

The table host for the 21/29 group is Mark Reynolds, 26, who has been a member of the church all his life. As he puts it, “I started out in the babies’ class.”

Katherine Simons, coordinator of the job-networking ministry, approached Reynolds about starting a group for young job seekers last year. “She said she thought the need was pretty dire,” Reynolds recalls.

He has 53 people on his contact list for the group.

He says one of the first lessons he learned was “to manage people’s expectations.”

Young people coming into the church have degrees from schools like Penn State, Georgia State, Tennessee, Colorado, Vanderbilt and Boston – even Harvard.

“A young woman came in last week, and she has an MBA from Penn State,” Reynolds says. “An MBA from Penn State is considered one of the best in the nation.”

Still, she has not been able to find a job.

“Some of her confidence has been shattered; some of her ability to portray herself in the best light has been shattered,” Reynolds says. “The job I have and the job others here have is to restore some of that confidence and introduce her to Christ and a faith-based confidence, rather than skills and talents-based confidence.”

It is his job to remind her that her potential is just as high as it was when she graduated.

Mark Reynolds, 26, is table host for the 21/29 young adult group. Table leaders share Bible verses and encourage job seekers to make God part of their job search.
View in Photo Gallery

Building a network

Juanita V. Pierre, 24, just graduated with dual degrees in accounting and Spanish. In college, she focused all her energy and time on making good grades. She expected to graduate, get a job and start her life.

Now, like many young graduates, she is living back at home with her family. She values the time she has now to reconnect with her family, but her dream is to be a forensics accountant working with the FBI or the IRS.

“I know how strong I am, and I believe in myself,” she says. “I am hard working, and they are going to see that. They are going to hire me. I feel like maybe in the next six months, hopefully, I will get exactly what I am looking for.”

David Hampe, 25, just graduated with a degree in civil engineering. He has a part-time job at the school from which he graduated but is coming to Roswell to “launch my career right the first time.” He says he is technically homeless. All his stuff is packed in boxes, and he lives at his sister’s house during the week and goes to his parents’ home on the weekends.

“Nobody is designed to go through this job search on their own, to go through life on their own in general,” he says. The 21/29 group gives him accountability with people his age and introduces him to a new group of professionals outside the range of his normal group of friends.

“When you build and establish a relationship with people who are in a job search with you, you build a bond of people who care and are willing to pay it forward to help everyone out until everyone in the group is hired,” he says.

Juanita V. Pierre, 24, chats with Mimi Kelly (left), who works the volunteer information desk as part of RUMC Job Networking.
View in Photo Gallery

Finding hope

Hatcher says everyone told her to go to Roswell United Methodist Church to join the job-networking ministry.

“I have actually gotten more interviews through their job postings than other job postings. Instead of just going online and applying for jobs, I have had a lot more contacts through career networking,” she says.

“A lot of people find their identity in their job,” she adds, “especially when you are young and trying to find your fit. I think a lot of people think their career is who they are.”

That’s where faith steps in, she says.

“We talk about that at RUMC, that you are God’s workmanship, that he created you with special qualities and spiritual gifts. He is going to use those as long as you know who you are and you use them in the best way you can.”

Hatcher, her older sister and brother – all in their 20s – are living at home with their single mom, who is caretaker for her mother. Hatcher feels blessed to have her family, and she knows God will take care of her.

“I just keep applying, keep looking, and I think the economy is going to get better. That’s my hope. I think there will be a lot more jobs created.”

Learn more about job ministries.

*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

A UMNS Report
By Barbara Dunlap-Berg*

2:00 P.M. EST February 11, 2011

Job seekers and volunteers network during The Career Transition Group held at Brentwood (Tenn.) United Methodist Church. The group has been meeting for 21 years. UMNS web-only photo by Jonathan Wentworth.

Steve Bass was a construction executive with a six-figure income. But then his company ran out of projects. Because Bass was the last hired, he was the first to go.

Today he earns minimum wage at a Sears in Kansas and rehabilitates inner-city houses for investors.

With the U.S. unemployment rate at 9 percent, many people are finding themselves wandering “in the wilderness” in need of employment — and direction. And, like Bass, many turn to the church for help and hope.

United Methodist congregations across the country are responding to that need with a range of services including support, advice and prayer.

In Leawood, Kan., the Church of the Resurrection’s two-year-old employment and financial ministry proved a blessing to Bass. The program serves 275 to 300 people annually. Unlike Bass, about 20 percent have no relationship with the church.

Components include a monthly job club with guest speakers and a weekly job-seekers' prayer and support group. An online board lists openings from the community and from employers connected with the congregation.

“We have a stable of about 30 job-search coaches who offer one-on-one coaching about resume development, interviewing and the use of social media and networking,” said the Rev. Russell Brown, pastor of support ministries.

The newest component of the program will provide free labor for a range of auto repairs for people who are out of work or struggling financially and depend on a car for job hunting or work, he added.

Bass has only good things to say about the ministry.

“Any kind of jobs program churches can put together is extremely valuable,” he said. “It is a huge opportunity for the church to be involved with the community, to witness to people in need and to help people rebuild their lives.”

Faith connection important

Every Thursday morning in Southlake, Texas, 300 to 400 job seekers gather at White’s Chapel United Methodist Church “to develop contacts within specific companies or fields of work,” said volunteer Fred Gehring, a financial adviser.

Bobby Williams (right) counsels a client through a program sponsored by Trinity United Methodist Church, Denver. The program teaches job skills, resume writing and interview techniques. A UMNS 2006 file photo by Allysa Adams.
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While membership is free, regular attendance is required before job seekers can access the group’s website, which includes job leads, contacts and articles that offer advice. The nondenominational group welcomes anyone who is unemployed, unhappily employed or under-employed.

“Since we have about 50 new members each week,” Gehring said, “I would estimate we serve (more than) 3,000 individuals in a given year.” Last year, 550 job seekers reported finding work through the program.

Participant Darien Beatty praised the ministry.

“One of the key things that set this program apart is the faith-reliance aspect. The opening prayer was of particular importance to me in this job search. I was able to get focused, targeting information necessary to keep my resume and interviewing skills current and allowing me to secure my new position.”

Another large congregation — First United Methodist Church in Hurst, Texas — offers the NETWorkers career-support group.

Participants explore educational opportunities, personality and capabilities testing and various job-hunting skills. They also receive financial counseling, discuss physical and spiritual nurturing and work with job recruiters.

Former job seeker Prem Babbili benefited from NETWorkers.

“The meetings were morale boosting, and I felt very encouraged and motivated,” he said. “The mock interviews gave me tremendous confidence and helped me prepare better for the actual interviews.”

Job fairs and listening ears

At First United Methodist Church in Newnan, Ga., a job-networking ministry has reached out for seven years. It serves about 400 people a year.

Meetings are open to the community, co-facilitator Billy Arnall said. People from other congregations come to the meetings “to get an idea of what we do, so they can start something like ours at their churches.”

In Memphis, Tenn., Raleigh United Methodist Church has provided two job fairs featuring multiple companies. More than 800 people from 52 ZIP codes attended each event. Participants honed such skills as completing job applications, interviewing and writing resumes.

The congregation also operates a job-placement office two mornings a week and offers free classes in basic computer skills, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

“Everyone who comes through our program is guaranteed a listening ear, a caring heart and a bit of hope,” said Rita Jones, outreach chair. “More than 100 people have found employment."

‘Growing into a servant leader’

In Canton, Ga., Fields Chapel United Methodist Church kicked off 2011 with a new faith-based job ministry, “Weathering the Storm,” to help unemployed and underemployed people.

The initial event — a one-day workshop — covered “everything needed to mount an effective job search,” a press release said. A certified volunteer facilitator provided leadership. Biweekly support group meetings supplement the sessions. Fields Chapel has 115 members.

Back at the Church of the Resurrection in Kansas, former construction executive Bass views his time of unemployment as an “internship” to discover he does not really work for humanity, but for God.

“God has different definitions of success and expectations in terms of ‘performance measures,’” Brown, the support-ministries pastor, said. “This ‘wilderness time’ fundamentally changed who Steve is and how he sees his relationship with God as well as his life's purpose.

“He feels he is growing into the heart now of a servant leader, learning to receive when he was accustomed to being the giver,” Brown said.

Bass’s new vision is serving inner-city people with his skills, and he is launching a company focused on making affordable housing available to low-income families. Part of his goal is to reemploy and use people in the construction industries, which have been especially hard hit.

That dream “may die,” Bass acknowledged, “but I’m trying to keep it alive.”

*Dunlap-Berg is internal content editor for United Methodist Communications.

News media contact: Barbara Dunlap-Berg, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5489 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

By Anne Dukes*

7:00 A.M. ET Oct. 7, 2011 | ATLANTA (UMNS)

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis (right, front) applauds Corentiss Holmes (at microphone) and other graduates of a job-training program during a symposium at Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta. UMNS photos by Stanley Leary.
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Cascade United Methodist Church welcomed U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis on Oct. 5 at a well-attended job symposium aimed at getting Americans, especially Atlanta-area residents, back to work.

Solis lamented that too many Americans — around 14 million — are unemployed. She noted that African Americans, Native Americans and youth have been particularly hard hit since the 2007-08 recession.

However, she commended the Cascade congregation and its senior pastor, the Rev. Marvin A. Moss, for giving needed support to job seekers.

"The practical help for job seekers and care and concern offered here at Cascade and by Rev. Moss have been pivotal to this community," she told those gathered. "They are one of the best-kept secrets for job seekers needing to get good information."

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships helped plan Solis’ visit to the symposium, which also included panel discussions offering advice to job seekers.

Solis spent much of her speech promoting President Barack Obama’s proposed “Americans Jobs Act,” but she also trumpeted the ministry churches can do for people facing the day-to-day struggle of unemployment.

Solis (right) and the Rev. Marvin A. Moss speak with reporters following the symposium.
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Offering a career network

Cascade United Methodist Church offers one such ministry through its Cascade Career Network, which provides resources, seminars and workshops — and much-needed spiritual support. The ministry, started in 2009, has served about 350 people. It is part of the Crossroads Career Network, a national community of churches that provides faith-based job search and career transition resources.

Foster Smith III has been coming to the Cascade Career Network for about a year and a half on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. He has found jobs but lost them again because they were only seasonal positions or the employer went bankrupt.

Still, he believes wholeheartedly in the benefits of the program and is upbeat about the future and his prospects for work in his field of sales.

“It is so important these days to be a part of a career networking group like this with seminars and meetings because the job climate has changed so much,” Smith said. “There are very different dynamics these days.”

The network, he said, has helped him rewrite his résumé, hone his interviewing skills and learn how to make the social network “LinkedIn” work for him

“They’ve been teaching us the ins and outs and how to brand ourselves and to keep reaching out, even to people we haven’t seen in 15 years,” Smith said.

Foster Smith III has been part of the career networking group at Cascade for about a year and a half.
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Boost of faith

“But most of all, because this is a faith-based program, we focus on the positive, and we maintain our faith in God and are able to reach out to meet others like ourselves. You realize that you’re not the only one dealing with this, and it helps with managing the pain and disappointments.”

Smith, who said he is a Catholic, now regularly attends Cascade and takes to heart the sermons Moss delivers.

“Last week’s sermon was all about keeping up with God when things are good — every day, not just when things are down,” he said. “The environment at Cascade helps me keep even.”

Moss knows people are hurting and trying. He said he wants the church to be a center for encouragement and keeping hope alive.

“The secretary (Solis) being here demonstrates the concern others have for us.”

*Dukes is a freelance writer in Atlanta.

News media contact: Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.