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Equipping people worldwide to learn, apply, and teach God's financial principles so they may know Christ more intimately, be free to serve Him, and help fund the Great Commission.
Today on MoneyLife with Chuck Bentley
Monday, October 12, 2009
Brian Ray: Church-Based Career Ministries
A lot of people are being hurt today by unemployment. I hope today’s program will help. Many people are already thinking about what they’re going to be able to spend for Christmas. Belt-tightening will be in, so don’t feel guilty. You can do lots of fun and thoughtful things with family and friends without spending a lot of money. Plan ahead and make sure you live within your means.
Brian says the average length of unemployment is almost 6 months. The more specialized the job or the higher the salary needed, the longer it takes to find it. Professional managers can take more than a year to find a similar job. Brian encourages people who are unemployed to stop trying to find a job on their own. You need to pray and network. Church is ideal for both. If you’re not in a church, you need a small group of friends who are on the same journey and can support you. Some churches have career ministries. They are Christ-centered. Christ knows everyone and their needs, knows about all the jobs, has a plan to put them together. The Christian’s goal should be to hear and follow God’s calling to the next step. Prayer is a big part of that. This is not praying just to get a job but heartfelt and honest intercessory prayer that allows God to change hearts. The Church is made to encourage that journey. Crossroads Career Network program for churches offers online resources for job search and career transition. The program also offers churches practical help about networking, resume writing, and interviewing. It also offers spiritual encouragement to help people to keep going on their journey. It's dangerous to be isolated during a time of unemployment even though some men tend to do that because of shame. Right now, California has over 2 million people unemployed. Brian is participating in an event there to share with church leaders how they can minister to people in their community who are unemployed, and to start career ministries. It's called the Career Transition Ministry Leaders Conference and it will be held on Saturday, October 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at New Covenant Community Church in Fresno, California. This is the last event for this year. Any church leader on the West Coast is invited to attend. Crossroads Career Network has online resources available to help the unemployed. One category of resources is for job seekers, career explorers. Another category of resources is for employers who are hiring adn want to post jobs. A third category is for churches who want to minister to the unemployed. Crossroads Career Network has information to help you start a Christ-centered career group, six people who gather weekly to pray, network encourage one another, and hold each other accountable. A church-based career ministry can grow quickly. Brian’s church ministers to 300. This creates a great networking environment, where people tell each other about available jobs. Some pastors are hesitant to start a new ministry because they and church resources are already stretched. But this is a ministry where if a person is helped and gets a new job they will likely give back to the Lord through the church so more people can be ministered to. The ministry is actually done by volunteers in the church, so a limited amount of church resources are involved. Pastor support is critical for any ministry. There's a $600 annual membership for unlimited use and a free trial is available. If you can’t go to the conference Saturday, a DVD of a past conference in Dallas is available for purchase at ctmlconference.org. *** I received a question from a listener who asked whether Crown borrowed money to finance the God Provides™ Film Learning Experience. The answer is no, God provided the resources needed for the project in advance. Crown doesn’t have any debt. Our Co-founders established a policy of never borrowing money, always waiting on the Lord to provide for our needs. As people and churches purchase God Provides™, that money is used to expand our outreach and minister to more people. Money is not being used to pay back debt. We hope to be able to create another film series in the near future. I encourage you who want a relevant ministry tool to purchase a boxed set of God Provides™. We think it's one of the greatest tools for discipleship ever created. Let me remind you about the upcoming God Provides™ premieres in Orlando and Dallas. I'll be in Orlando, Thursday, October 15 and in Dallas, on Friday, October 16. We've rented a theater in each city to show Abraham and Isaac on the big screen. See the complete city tour list here. You're all invited to attend this free event, but seating is limited, first come first served.
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The Plans of TomorrowLife is fragile. Consider where you are investing your time and energies. |
Teaching God's People God's PrinciplesGod calls each of us to fill the gap in order to spread His Gospel to all parts of the world. |
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Finances and Your Relationship with GodThis generation’s greatest need is for God’s Word to be taught clearly and undiluted. The next greatest is for Christians to demonstrate that it works. |
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Our guest today is 
According to the latest government report, 9.8% of the workforce is currently unemployed. That means over 15 million people are looking for jobs.
