webmaster posted on January 26, 2010 12:51
Laura Lemons of First Baptist Church, Plainfield, Indiana has learned to listen to God.
Working in human resources, Laura was particularly involved with her husband and his former colleagues when they were all down-sized a few years ago. She realized how few people know how to best approach a job search, develop interview skills, and network in today’s electronic world. She felt a call to use her skills in a Christian context, but wasn’t sure how to structure such an effort. Beginning with Margaret O’Kon, chair of the Connectedness Board at First Baptist, Laura shared her calling with a number of church leaders. All felt the same urge to meet this need, and knew that God was leading them.
Margaret believed that this need was bigger than any one church, and began by contacting to a number of other local churches, asking for volunteers to come together to think and pray about this need. Fifteen showed up at the meeting, and eleven, representing three churches, signed on to be the planning team for a Community Employment Conference. Of the 11, each had specific gifts that were needed. Some of these talented people discovered their gifts for the first time and experienced the joy of putting those gifts to use for the Lord.
Two of the team were from the Methodist church next door. They had started a mentoring group for those looking for jobs and had mentors in place, but very few job-hunters. The Community Employment Conference was an answer to their prayers of a way to publicize their ministry; at the same time, the mentoring program answered the prayers of the conference planners for a way to provide follow-up to their one day event.
Although there were willing hands, there was no funding available for the Community Employment Conference. A committee member wrote a grant proposal for $1,000. They received a grant for $700, funding all of their request except for the lunch and refreshments. Within moments of receiving this news, another volunteer reported that she had secured a $250 gift from a local business to sponsor the lunch. There was also a $100 gift card from Walmart. Then a third volunteer reported that Starbucks had offered to provide coffee and a local Mexican restaurant would provide a nacho bar! God had provided more than they had requested. The reason for this over-abundance became obvious on the day of the conference when leftover box lunches went home with several individuals as dinner for their families who would not have otherwise had food that night.
The team members contacted the Chamber of Commerce, the state employment office, a county college network, and a number of local businesses. All were eager to help, and a resource fair soon grew, featuring resources and need evaluations from the state employment office; interview appearance advice from Mary Kay and a local hair salon; information about post-employment benefits and resources from a local finance company; not-for-profit groups looking for volunteers; and more.
The week before the conference, only three individuals had registered. The team had hoped for 50 and desired many more. They were feeling very low and discussed whether or not to cancel. Going back to their original purpose, “if we help one person, it will have been a success,” they agreed to go forward. They felt strongly that the Lord had something in mind or else he wouldn't have provided the many blessings experienced along the way. The team contacted the presenters, many of whom were driving 45 minutes to an hour and giving up a Saturday. All said that they would come regardless of how many showed up. Then the team prayed. Laura asked for 5 minutes in the pulpit on the Sunday before the conference and challenged each member of the congregation to give a flyer to someone that they knew who may be experiencing actual or threatened job loss. By the end of the week there were almost 25 individuals signed up and 40 attended the conference.
A number of individuals were blessed by the conference itself. One lady walked out after the first presentation, and soon returned with her husband and adult children. Another lady reported that she had been at the end of her emotional rope, but had been so moved and helped by the conference that she sent personal thank you notes to each business that had donated to or presented at the conference. Some of the individuals that were working at the resource booths came in during the presentations and were taking notes and learning things that they were excited to incorporate into their own business or job. Even some of the volunteers gained business opportunities from the networking that occurred among the presenters, volunteers and resources, a blessing that no one had envisioned. The presenters were all professionals and all donated their time and talents. The day closed with the pastor from the Christian Church who spoke on the true and sustainable encouragement that can be found only through our Lord.
Since the conference in August, Margaret O’Kon has passed away. Some of her friends view this conference as a final witness to her enthusiasm and dedication to serve. Her witness of service as the hands and feet of Christ will continue to live in the lives she touched.
Through this effort, Laura learned to let God work. “My first instinct was to tap into the volunteers and my friends within the church to get the conference pulled together,” she said. “But Margaret had the wise understanding that we needed put the call out there and let God call those who should serve. The entire committee agreed that it all came together so well because we all brought different gifts and we allowed each other to use those gifts - the people and gifts that God brought together. I also learned that we need to look beyond our own doors. I think many of us feel that our Christian faith is under attack these days. By using the combined resources of believers, we were able to provide a greater outreach to the community and put our faith into action on a grander scale than we would have if we had kept it within our own congregation.”
One of the conference attendees commented that it renewed his faith in Christians to see Christians of different denominations working together and giving without asking for anything in return. He said that he had fully intended to be “hit up” for something, but was pleasantly surprised that nothing was asked of him in return. The team learned the importance of Jesus’ message in Matthew 25 to meet the needs of those around us. They began by serving as the hands and feet of Christ, not by looking for new church members. Once they earned credibility through service, the door was open for sharing the love of Jesus Christ at the end of the conference.