Unemployment! What Can Church Do?

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Special Report: How Churches Can Bring Help and Hope to Job Seekers
This in-depth Prime Time America radio interview that unveils how a Christian-based career transition and job search ministry can strengthen your church body and local community. Brian Ray, founder of Crossroads Career Network, shares his extensive career insight and discusses the important role churches can play in the lives of those seeking employment opportunities and/or career transition guidance.

Career Ministries Offer Hope, Direction, Guidance
Brian Ray begins sharing with Prime Time America the surprising networking stats - 48% of job seekers network thru places of worship and 24% of employers network for future employees thru places of worship. In addition, according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics 70% of jobs are found through networking. Unfortunately, when most people lose their job, they overlook the impact of networking and react right away by redoing their resume and posting it everywhere.

6 Steps to a New Career
Crossroads Career focuses on 6 Steps to help people walk through a crossroads in their career.

• Step 1: Accepting the loss of a job and resolving negative emotions. Brian explains that job seekers experience a dominant feeling of anger.  However, we want to lead them to that point of acknowledgment that they are angry. Forgiveness holds the key for helping job seekers be free of that anger. As long as you hang on to anger, you cannot go through
• Step 2: Discovering one’s unique abilities
• Step 3: focus on marketplace
• Step 4: Finding opportunities
• Step 5: Interviewing
• Step 6: Walking in the work that God has prepared for you

Brian developed the 6 steps after meditating upon Jeremiah 6:16. “This is what the LORD says: ’Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” This verse rings true since Brian knows that most job seekers often update their resume and start hunting – which are steps 3 and 4. Local Crossroads Career Network member church in Naperville, IL echoed Brian’s sentiment. Dave Carl says, “People coming to the career ministry are not as focused or organized as they would like to be. They are often not sure how to organize or implement a career transition plan, we help them put an orderly, cohesive career plan together and go out in the marketplace.

Career Ministries Serve as an Evangelizing Tool and More
Churches can use their local career ministries as a tool to evangelize. In fact, some career ministries have noted that around 50% of its attendees are from their local community, versus congregation. In addition, over half indicated that the spiritual uplift was the main benefit they enjoyed from attending the career ministry. Many churches do not offer career ministries, prayerfully that will change. Furthermore, when economy is bad and unemployment is high, the need for career ministries is often the highest. Unfortunately, this often results in churches cutting ministries. The greatest advantage for starting/continuing a prayer ministry during these times is that career ministries help people to become re-employed - thus providing them with an opportunity to financially contribute to the church’s bottom line.

A participant going through a career ministry stated that joining her local career ministry has helped her navigate her career transition in a more God-honoring way then before.

Equip Your Church for Career Ministry
See how your church can help people through crossroads in their careers to find jobs, careers, calling.  Sign up your church for free membership trial. Explore all the career, ministry and employers resources that comes with your church joining the network.  For more information about career ministry in your church, call our member services line at 1.800.941.3566.