Kingwood Churches Join to Help Job Seekers - Kingwood

The new Between Jobs Ministry – Kingwood (BJMK) is a collaboration of numerous churches in Kingwood, most prominently St. Martha’s Catholic Church and Kingwood United Methodist Church. BJMK is modeled after the Between Jobs Ministry at the Northwest Bible Church in Spring Texas. Staffed with volunteers, the churches provide job seekers with helpful encouragement and prayer, job search techniques including one-on-one help, and networking. BJMK has been open to the public for two months but plans a Grand Opening at the Kingwood United Methodist Church location on Monday, January 25 at 9:00 a.m.

The group of volunteers, called “Encouragers”, includes HR professionals, retirees and job seekers. Clients are aided with resume preparation, armed with business cards and a thirty second commercial. Weekly programs on a variety of job search topics help prepare for interviews and offers. A major piece of the program is prayer, encouragement and support from others who struggle with the search process. “Many of our clients are without a job for the first time in their lives. They have never had to seek employment and struggle with the esteem issues of losing their job. We show them that they are valuable. They are not alone, and quite simply just ‘between jobs’. We offer a lot of encouragement and they feel a part of large brotherhood of people who are helping each other,” says Anne Davis, coordinator of the KUMC effort. “I am amazed at the quality of people who are out of a work. Seeing firsthand the pool of untapped talent is the saddest statement about our economic crisis.”

Some studies report that over 80% of new jobs come from personal referrals. David Dickson, co-coordinator of the KUMC ministry states, “Networking is a crucial activity to finding a new job. That means getting out of the house and meeting with as many people as you can. Our group spends over an hour identifying contacts for one another. The more people join that join us each week, the more likely each will find a contact in their desired organization.” For that reason, BJMK facilitates travel to Spring in car pools and a church bus so that job seekers can network with the larger group of 500+ that meet in Spring each Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. “Networking is a large part of the BJM Spring program, too.”

The ministry also has developed a pool of available positions. After attending a session, job seekers can take advantage of the job postings. The ministry also provides information on local support such as food pantries and crisis shelters. One church, Calvary Christian Fellowship is providing support through couples counseling. “Each church brings meaningful resources. Through our collaboration, we are able to extend our reach and extend our networks” says Dickson.

BJM – Kingwood locations Kingwood United Methodist Church – every Monday beginning at 8:00 a.m. St. Martha’s hosts job seekers every Friday from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. Additional programming is available at Second Baptist and Calvary Christian Fellowship. For more information, contact bjmkingwood@yahoo.com or Anne Davis at 281-685-6029.