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Religion Forum Index » Christian Methodist Forum » UMNS: Crossroads Career Ministry
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 Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2004 11:36 pm |
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Career ministry 'worth its weight in gold,' says jobless man
Jan. 8, 2004
A UMNS Report
By Nancye Willis*
After Rick Kent of Atlanta lost his job as a well-paid sales director,
he went to church. At Sugar Hill United Methodist Church, he found what
he needed-not only emotional and spiritual support but also a free job
search.
Kent knew about Sugar Hill's Crossroads Career Ministry for the
unemployed firsthand. He had spoken to members of the support group a
year and half earlier.
"I gave a testimonial, when I was still employed, about making a career
change in a positive way and how God has worked in our lives," he says.
"Obviously, when I had the need for a search, I knew this is one of the
best venues and paths to look for help," he says. "It's worth its weight
in gold because it gives you some optimism."
Sugar Hill Crossroads director Sherrie Nacke agrees. "In addition to
contacts and names of people, it also offers friendships and spiritual
support. This Crossroads has helped numerous people find numerous
opportunities," she says.
"Sometimes it's not necessarily through the job leads that get
communicated via e-mail," she says. "Sometimes they discover they have a
unique talent or a unique skill or maybe some education that they
realized they could apply to certification and go in a different area."
Nacke describes Crossroads as "a church-based, formalized way of
searching in a church environment-a Christian environment-during a
crossroads in career."
The U.S. Bureau of Statistics estimates that about 8.7 million U.S.
citizens are at such a crossroads, starting the new year looking for
work. Fear can be their worst enemy, Nacke says.
"They have fears of not even finding leads enough to follow up on; fear
of uncertainty of their skills. Maybe they're uncertain as to where they
fit in the marketplace. Maybe they don't want to uproot their family."
At the Crossroads group meetings, Nacke says, she sees those fears
dissipate. "This is a tremendous outlet for them. It's safe. It's
secure. They know familiar faces. They can ask questions of
professionals or volunteers: 'Hey, what would you do in this instance?'"
The dedication of the volunteers impresses her. "You have to have a lot
of passion to want to help somebody and help them through those
feelings. We want to instill in these people the love that Christ has
for us through us to these individuals," she says.
"Some people come severely beaten down in their ego because maybe they
were making that executive pay and maybe now they're not. It's up to us
to show them the love that Christ has for us," she adds.
Unfortunately, Nacke says, with unemployment in the United States
hovering around 6 percent, "many churches miss this element of helping
their congregations in perhaps what is one of the biggest problems right
now in American homes."
Founded by two executives in the search and recruiting field, Crossroads
Career Ministries first involved a group of Atlanta volunteer business
people who wanted to help others in career transition. The early
marketplace ministry grew to the point that it began meeting in a local
church, and is now an ecumenical, volunteer-led network with chapters in
nearly 30 states.
Information on the Sugar Hill Crossroads Career Ministry is available at
www.sugarhillumc.org/career.htm, and at the site of its parent
organization, the national Crossroads Career Network,
www.crossroads-career.net/index.htm.
# # #
*Willis is editor for the Public Information Team at United Methodist
Communications in Nashville, Tenn. This story is based on material
gathered for a UMTV report produced by Lyle Jackson.
********************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org |
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