When Faith and the Economy Meet: Local Churches Offer Support for the Unemployed

Paul Weisenburger is happily employed now, but the Inver Grove Heights resident
admits it's been a tough road.

Like many, Weisenburger fell victim to the poor economy and a shaky employment market. In five years, he found himself unemployed not once, but three times.

Instead of letting the lost jobs discourage him, Weisenburger took action and created his own support group for the unemployed, called the Inver Hills Work Connection, at Inverhills Church. In doing so, Weisenburger became part of a unique, recession-related trend. As the ranks of unemployed professionals began swelling in 2008, many turned to local churches for support, connections and confidence.

There are currently 26 different church-based job transition and support groups in the metro area, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The reason behind the growth in the number of church-based groups is simple, said Mike Lang, a Workforce Development Division Specialist for the Minnesota WorkForce Centers of Dakota and Scott Counties.

In a saturated job market, job seekers need to find new ways to find jobs.

"People can become pretty creative when they need to be and that is why the job clubs at churches have grown so much," said Lang. "It starts with a few people who know each other from church, and then a few more and soon, it grows to 10, 20, 30 people or more. There are so many people with such diverse backgrounds that using the connections formed through a church is a great way to build a support group.”

"Job clubs can be a tremendous networking, inspirational and tactical resource," said Catherine Byers Breet, founder of the Easter Job Transitions Group in Eagan.

Byers Breet is well known throughout the Twin Cities as a speaker, author, career coach and consultant. She is the founder of Arbez, an Eagan-based company that inspires job seekers to make smart career moves through online video coaching tools, workshops and strategic consulting/process improvement.

"They come in all shapes and sizes. You’ll have to shop around to find the one that’s right for you. Some are all about spiritual support, others are all about education and networking. Some offer both. Find one or two that are a fit for you, and go regularly. The real magic comes when you start to build relationships beyond the group meetings.”

Founded in December of 2008, the Easter Job Transitions Group has between 40-60 active members that  attend its Tuesday sessions. Each week is different. Some weeks guest speakers talk about the latest resume writing trends. Other weeks the group will view a presentation on the online networking resource LinkedIn. Other sessions include breaking into small groups to network with other club members.

The goal of the group is to connect the unemployed with job resources and provide support, encouragement and networking opportunities that you may not be able to find by perusing Internet job listings or firing off resumes. The group has helped over 730 professionals over the past three years.

When it comes to job clubs it can be a good thing when numbers dwindle — that means people are getting hired. That's why the remaining members of Weisenburger's group at Inverhills eventually combined forces with the Easter Job Transitions Group. As a result, the Inverhills group is no longer active.

"The whole key to job transition groups is using each other as resources," Weisenburger said. "So we moved to the group to Easter to take advantage of that. They have more resources.”

The resources the Easter group offered also enticed Savage resident Dave Cornell to join. After 25 years of corporate sales, training and management experience, Cornell never thought he'd attend a support group until he lost his job in January of 2010. That’s when he realized the old fashioned way of searching for a job posting and sending off a resume just isn't enough these days.

"It was an odd feeling when I first went," said Cornell, who recently learned of two job possibilities through the Easter group. "I didn't know what I was getting into, but once I got there and got involved I realized that we're all going through the same thing, the same struggles. There's really a sense of camaraderie and encouragement. It's a great place to find support and encouragement and of course, meet with people who know people."

Weisenburger agrees.

"It offers a sense of family," he said. "It’s helped me and it’s helped a lot of people. I highly recommend them for anyone looking for work, support and new opportunities.”