I’ve had the privilege of being a mentor once a week in the Jobs for Life (JFL) class which met at Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) in SE Raleigh this fall.  The whole process started for me when my wife, Urvi, and I joined Apostle’s Missions Team and realized how many ministries (including JFL) that our church supports.  I further learned about JFL and the impact it was making through Daniel Alexander and Ray Bennett, both of whom had mentored previously and were part of my Community Group.  Per their encouragement and some prompting from the Holy Spirit, I jumped into this opportunity thinking “I have much to offer and 16 plus years of work experience to lend.”  I can now humbly say looking back that it was my student who had much to offer me and I was the one with a lot to learn.

I was paired up with a young man named Chris, who came from a large family and struggled with a medical disorder.  Like many of the other 13 men in this class, Chris had an absentee father, no positive role models, and very little input on life guidance and what it means to make wise decisions.  Yet also like others in his class he was motivated (he ended up with perfect attendance) and had a sense of what he wanted to do in life (motivational speaking) and in many ways simply needed encouragement and some structure to get there.  Working with him one-on-one just once per week and using the Bible-based JFL curriculum, helped Chris understand that the LORD has created meaning and purpose in work.  The curriculum and completion of homework assignments (a requirement to graduate) helped equip him with the steps required to pursue and maintain employment (i.e., creating a resume, tackling interview questions, appropriate dress and posture, and simple advice such as looking someone in the eye when shaking hands).  What I watched in him over 8 weeks (and I think what the LORD did in me) was simply transformational.  Without feeling like I had to “fix” his problem or dispense some great wisdom, the most helpful thing was simply being present.  I think the other mentors would agree that it was our presence and interest in our mentor’s lives that many times spoke louder than words.  This was also an extremely challenging semester in which at least half of the 13 men were homeless at one time and yet more than half have now gone on to accept permanent positions in companies.

God was (and is) at work in this process and the icing on the kingdom-building cake was the comradery and shared experience this created with my fellow Community Group members, Daniel and Ray.  Mentoring and meeting on the same night almost became a tangible extension of what we were learning together in church: sharing our time, treasure and talent and strengthening our friendship.  This experience also helped me see how the LORD can take a little (2 hours once per week of mentoring) and multiply it in big life changing ways for His kingdom and Glory.  I would commend any Community Group that is looking for a tangible way to serve together to consider signing up as a group to mentor in an upcoming Jobs for Life class.  You will find even a one semester commitment to be a “hands on” way of seeing how God can transform the lives of others (as well as your own) and can help you grasp Apostle’s vision of “transforming the city through Jesus Christ.”

Are you a JfL graduate, mentor or site leader?  Send us thoughts on your experience at info@jobsforlife.org

One Scripture I have used almost more than any other is 1 John 3:17:

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

This verse is bracketed by verse 16 where John describes the way Jesus laid down His life for us as a model for us to lay down our lives for one another, and verse 18 where he commands us not to love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

While faith in Christ is first and foremost the mark of the believer, John is giving us another mark of the believer….compassion for those in need.

In Deuteronomy 15, Moses commands the people not to “harden your heart” or “shut your hand” toward your poor brother.  Instead he says, “you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need.”

This command is for every believer not just those gifted or predisposed to this type of ministry.

At this time of year, I am struck by the pervasive feeling in my own heart and in the hearts of others I see to do something to help someone in need.  What is it about the holidays that causes us to feel this urge?

Guilt that I have not done more?  Sorrow for those who do not have what I have? A desire to feel good about myself? A need to be accepted by God?

Or compassion?

Helping someone during the holidays is noble, but only if it’s for the right reason.  And this urge to help can’t just be a moment, it must become a lifestyle…a lifestyle that allows us the privilege of building relationships with people in need on a regular basis.

I pray God continues to move me to places where I can interact meaningfully with those in need.  I pray compassion will be what motivates me when I engage with them.  I pray God continually lets me see the compassion He has extended to me through His Son so that I can offer it to others.  I pray the Lord will cause my hand to be open and not closed toward my neighbors.  And I pray this not just for the holidays but for every day of the year.

How about you?

During a recent trip to Alabama, we met Ashley at the Neighborhood Christian Center, a Jobs for Life site in Decatur.  We had to share the amazing things God is doing the lives of Ashley, her mentors and her JfL instructor:

Learn more about this amazing young woman by reading Ashley’s Story here and then see Pamela’s Story (below) to experience what her JfL instructor has to say about this amazing transformation!

Pamela’s Story:   I met Ashley three years ago.  She was a client of ours at the NCC through our Compassion Ministries (food & clothes).  She was very unhappy and was often difficult to deal with because of all the issues she was dealing with deep within her.  When we started a JFL class at the Morgan County Jail, Ashley attended to my amazement.  I wasn’t aware of her even being in the MCJ and wondered if she would really participate in the class.  As we dug deeper into this class, Ashley’s countenance began to change as we witnessed the Holy Spirit working in her life.  Ashley attended Jobs for Life twice; graduating both times.  God used this class in a huge way in her life to draw her to Himself, train her on how to get a job and keep it, and introduce her to two wonderful ladies (JFL volunteers through the NCC) who would become her mentor and friend now that she has been released.  She just glows from the new creature she is in Christ, has a job, has mentors who are pouring into her life, attending classes, and so thankful for how God has connected all the dots in her life to put her on the path that pleases Him and has freed her from the bondage that formerly enslaved her to the enemy.  Praise God that He cleans us up like no one else can.                             -Pamela Bolding, NCC Director & JFL Instructor

Also, click here to see a video from the Men of Valor, a JfL site in Nashville, TN.

Each week we will answer a new question submitted by one of our sites.  Video answers will be posted here so be sure to sign-up for our blog updates!  We welcome any and all questions which can be submitted via:  Facebook, Twitter, email (info@jobsforlife.org) or the form below.

Each week we will answer a new question submitted by one of our sites.  Video answers will be posted here so be sure to sign-up for our blog updates!  We welcome any and all questions which can be submitted via:  Facebook, Twitter, email (info@jobsforlife.org) or the form below

[contact-form]

Each week we will answer a new question submitted by one of our sites.  Video answers will be posted here so be sure to sign-up for our blog updates!  We welcome any and all questions which can be submitted via:  Facebook, Twitter, email (info@jobsforlife.org) or the form below

How do you teach an ex-offender to do a 60 second commercial?  What’s the best way to attract students?  What does an active JfL class look like?…

Each week we will answer a new question submitted by one of our sites.  Video answers will be posted here so be sure to sign-up for our blog updates!  We welcome any and all questions which can be submitted via:  Facebook, Twitter, email (info@jobsforlife.org) or the form below   [contact-form]

The Breakfast of Champions is free to attend, takes place every other month, and is an opportunity to gather with other leaders in the community to spend time with one another, build relationships, and see what the Lord is doing in Middle Tennessee as together we care for our neighbors through the dignity of work.

We are inviting our friends, leaders, students, mentors of JfL classes, business and community contacts, and those interested in JfL’s work.

We’d love for you to join us and invite your friends!  You can let them know this is not a fundraising event.

Please make sure to RSVP by Tuesday, September 13th here:  http://jflseptemberboc.eventbrite.com