In October of 2010 I had the privilege of attending the Christian
Community Development Association conference in Indianopolis, IN. One of the workshops I attended at the conference was hosted by a ministry called Jobs for Life. During that workshop the leader said something that made a lot of sense to me. He talked about what he called, “flip the list.” He mentioned that the top three things churches do to help those in need is food, shelter, and clothes – all worthy causes. However, less than 1% of all churches do anything at all to help with job training and placement. Then he asked, “What would happen if we fliped the list?” In other words, what would happen if churches stressed job training and job placement? The answer is simple: food, shelter, and clothing would be taken care of. In addition, people would be given dignity. Here is a video that illustrates this point.
This Saturday my church is starting our first, of what we hope will be many, Jobs for Life programs. The program is a 16 session (8 week) program that will go over the dignity of work, having the right attitude about work, resume building, and interview skills (just to name a few topics). Those who finish the program will be given a certificate, assigned a mentor, and given help finding jobs. It’s a vigorous program.
I am really excited about this, but a little nervous. I am praying for a minimum of 12 students and that out of the 12, at least 2 will complete the program.
Will you pray with me and my church? As you pray, also pray for Mark Liddell. He will be doing most of the teaching.
Floods of Justice 