More churches are offering career ministries

Tony Scotto has been through this before.

When he was laid off from his banking job in October, the feeling was all too familiar. In years past, he lost positions in manufacturing and the airline industry.

But this time, the 52-year-old Land O' Lakes father of three has support as he seeks work in a depressed economy: a church-based career ministry for the unemployed and underemployed.

"It's made a world of difference," Scotto says of his Tuesday morning meetings at the In Between Jobs Support Ministry of Keystone Community Church. "Being with other people makes me realize I'm not alone in this. I'm also reminded that God is here with me, and in his time, something good will happen."

When did houses of worship become havens for displaced workers? Since the country began sliding into its worst unemployment crisis since the end of World War II.

Congregations across the religious spectrum are responding with free support groups that provide prayer and practical advice, such as how to reinvent yourself and the art of navigating Web sites to find career opportunities. Church leaders say these outreach efforts are biblically inspired to help those in need. But they also address an underlying and growing concern among budget-strapped congregations: When people are out of work, they can't help support their faith communities.

More than a dozen churches have launched groups in the Bay area in recent months, including Hyde Park United Methodist and St. Paul Catholic in Tampa, Bell Shoals Baptist in Brandon and North Bay Community in Largo. But the program with the most experience is led by Bob Saxon, a professional résumé writer who founded the In Between Jobs ministry in May 2002 at his former church.

"Members kept coming to me for some help with their résumés," he says. "It hit me that if this many people were out of work, I could use my skills to lend a hand. I feel blessed I can do this for my neighbors. That's what we're called as Christians to do."

He came up with a name: The Tweeners. Saxon liked the positive - and temporary - image it portrayed.

Now in its eighth year and run through Keystone, a new church where Saxon serves as volunteer administrator, the ministry has served more than 1,400 people, from manual laborers to skilled professionals. Saxon says at least 1,275 found jobs.

"Not because we got them the job," he says, "but because we helped get their self-esteem cleaned up, their résumés in order and their job search and interview skills up to speed, so they can compete in today's market."

Saxon never knows how many people will show up for the free sessions that are open to the public. His barometer on the economy's health works in reverse: As the marketplace shrinks, the number of participants grows. A few weeks ago, some two dozen people filled the meeting room in a storefront at Lake Chapman Plaza at 16307 N. Florida Ave.

Although it was gray and drizzly outside, the mood inside was upbeat. Saxon won't have it any other way. A positive attitude is a must for the job hunt. Depression is the enemy. But just in case, he keeps a box of tissues nearby.

"I cried for three days after losing my job," admits Alice Funk, a marketing director laid off this month from the Florida Manufactured Housing Association. "Then one morning I got up and realized I was the only one who could fix me. I jumped up, got dressed, washed my hair and was out the door."

Now she's an official Tweener, confident there's a job in her future. In the meantime, she's relying on the ministry to keep her focused and grounded. She loves the networking and social interaction among participants. But she speaks of the spiritual bond that connects them during the uncertainty.

"If you don't have faith that your life is going to improve, what do you have? God is always going to provide. He's always going to be there behind us and help us walk through this," she says.

After coffee and a meet-and-greet, Saxon opens the meeting with one rule: Put your cell phones on the table and leave them on. "I don't want anyone missing a call for a potential job," he says.

Newcomers introduce themselves and tell their stories:

A security guard who used to protect celebrities is ready for a fresh start. He's more interested in a job that makes him happy than a lot of money.

A former real estate agent who went back to school for medical courses and it's not clicking for her. She's in search of her passion.

A father of three youngsters who left his job in technology because the travel took him away from home too much. He would like to coach, preferably in a middle school.

Larry LaBelle has heard it all. In 1999, he founded Training Tamer Inc., which provides training, coaching and support services to job seekers and employers. He volunteers his expertise to the ministry, setting up PowerPoint presentations on building a better résumé and transferring skills from one career to another.

Like Saxon, he stresses the importance of staying hopeful and "in action." If you get out of action, he tells the group, you'll get depressed and you won't make any headway. Then the situation gets worse and it snowballs.

The biggest problem facing the jobless today?

"Just getting in the door," LaBelle says. A great set of skills means nothing if you can't get the interview. He works on showing participants how to break the barrier; from there, he coaches them on the interview process.

"And once you get the job," he says triumphantly, "we're going to show you how to negotiate a great salary."

The Tweeners love this way of thinking. Some applaud. When Saxon closes the two-hour meeting, he leaves them with a devotional based on 1 Kings 19:11-13. Be still and listen, he tells them. God is more likely to speak to you with a gentle whisper than in a loud voice.

AIM for the job

After Joe Jones' job as managing director for a national consortium for associations came to an end in December 2007, he attended an In Between Jobs meeting.

It gave him a tremendous boost. And that got him thinking about the potential for expanding the program nationally so thousands more could benefit. With three decades of experience in career counseling and human resource training, he had a vision: Why not develop a business plan so any church could initiate its own career ministry?

Two months later, he founded a nonprofit organization, Career Ministries, and put together an extensive training manual. Now he leads "quick-start" one-day workshops, oversees onsite meeting-facilitation services with a follow-up plan if a church doesn't have a volunteer leader and organizes workshops for Bay-area career ministries.

Jones earns less than a third of his former annual salary of $95,000, but he has found a bigger payoff in his new career: passion and meaning to his work.

"It's an avocation rather than a vocation," he says.

Unlike most ministries, churches will reap an economic benefit to sponsoring a career support group, he tells potential clients. He shows them the math. A 500-member church may lose $50,000 a year in tithes and benevolence fund requests. But it takes only $2,000 to $3,000 to launch a program that will expedite putting members back to work.

Jones offers his services to train volunteer leaders and provide the materials; ultimately, the goal is to make it a volunteer-led group that costs no more to run than the initial investment.

Research tells him that such a ministry is a necessity in today's changing workplace. In a recent survey by Wright Associates, Jones says a person 40 or older will change careers - not jobs, but professions - at least four times over a lifetime; for a worker younger than 40, it jumps to five to 10 times.

A faith-based support group will provide the tools people need to find themselves in this difficult process, Jones says.

"You bring people together at their greatest time of need, and good things will happen," he says. "They find out soon enough that when things seem so bleak, God is a powerful force and can give them a float like nothing else can."

North Bay Community Church's first hands-on career workshop drew 26 people. It was such a success that the program is now a Saturday morning fixture, attracting new college graduates and strapped retirees forced to rejoin the workforce, says Lee Savage, director of community services.

He has been out of work twice in his lifetime, so he wrote the program from experience.

His main advice: "Think AIM - attitude, initiative and motivation. Don't leave home without it."

Like other ministries, he addresses body and soul.

"Many come in spiritually depressed," he says. "We may not be able to fix the job situation right away, but we can definitely work on restoring the faith."

Journey best taken with company

Dianne Sale is depending on AIM - and her faith. She has been told that her job with the financial department at Gentiva Health Services will end in September. She's taking a résumé-writing class at Hyde Park United Methodist, led by church volunteer Lee Bell, owner of Express Employment Professionals.

Sale, 59, has had good evaluations and hasn't taken a sick day in 22 years. But she knows her age puts her at a disadvantage in the shrinking job market. Her husband had to take early retirement, so she must keep working.

"These days, companies can pick and choose," she says. "And they only want the cream of the crop. So I've got to prove to them that I'm the cream."

But it's a journey best taken with company, says Lou Palmer, who lost his job in corporate sales with Dow Jones in January. He credits his fellow congregants at Hyde Park for shoring him up with prayers and support.

Yes, some days are miserable. But this experience has come with lessons that will stay with him.

"A pastor once told me there's no such thing as a lone wolf Christian. I never really got it. Now I do," he says. "Once you let pride out of the equation and you accept all that love and help offered to you, you're set free. You can see the light out of any situation."

Contact Information: To learn more about In Between Jobs Support Ministry, call (813) 963-0484. Want to find the closest church to you that has a career outreach, or learn how to set up one at your place of worship? Call Career Ministries at (813) 960-1876. For information on the Saturday morning program at North Bay Community Church, call (727) 796-0071. Training Tamer can be reached at (813) 924-8404.