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Churches a beacons of hope and practical support for the unemployed
Church in the Community - Media Release in the Herald: 15th July 2024
Source: TCN / Kaya Nkumbesi
Date Added: 2024-07-15
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Social upliftment,
Date Added: 2024-07-15
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Social upliftment,
Every day as we go to work, the shops or school, we see numerous people with CVs in their hands and some hope in their heart that they will be one of the fortunate few to be offered a position.
Despite this persistence, we have a youth unemployment rate of 59% in the country, and higher here in the Eastern Cape.
We had been seeing this reality outside our church in Walmer for years, with large numbers of predominantly men sitting outside, waiting for a bakkie or car to stop and offer them a piece job.
We felt a strong urge to act.
A plan came together over a Christmas lunch discussion.
Pastor Glenn Weiss and I decided to work together to build a team of enthusiastic change agents who wanted to work hard together to fight unemployment in our immediate context.
On 9 June 2021 we launched the JESU (Joy Employment & Skills Upliftment) Club.
Our Goal was to connect local job seekers with employers in a dignified manner that would lead our local church to being a place of hope for the local community.
On almost every Wednesday since then we have gathered at 9am to sing together then share encouragement from a local community leader on how our members can prepare themselves to best impact in the workplace when they get there.
Afterwards, the members break into small groups in order to do DBS (Discovery Bible Study).
At the end of the session, we provide a meal, a food pack and something from our garden.
We have also been able to develop some programmes to uplift our members.
Our most recent programme was the joy stitches initiative that was started by Zolani Booi where folks could learn various sewing skills.
A number of those attending have been able to launch their own business.
In June we celebrated our third birthday with an open day where we could showcase the impact of our hard work with various people from around the city.
The day started with our volunteers arriving early to give each other support and encouragement.
Glenn, who hosted the day, shared the impact the club has had over the years.
We have had the joy of see over 64 find employment, 1 045 people on our database, 54 employment partners, 12 small businesses supported, 7 990 food packs given out and many people saved and baptised.
After we had celebrated these facts, we were able to hear stirring testimonies from members of the club who had been impacted, and how attending has help them and their families.
We had one more surprise. All the members were gifted joy dollars on which they could use to buy three items of their choice from donations we had received.
These donations included clothes, kitchenware, books and much more.
Every one of our members was able to shop and leave with materials that will help them.
We also used the display of wonderful goods to encourage others to join the programme.
Donors could see first hand the difference they were making in the lives of people.
One of our volunteers prepared a wonderful meal for us, and some of the youngest members of the church made some lovely baked goodies to enjoy together.
Reflecting on the three years since that lunch-time discussion, we can see the hand of God in restoring joy and dignity to many families and seeing how a number of people who had gone nearly three to four years without employment were able to find a job.
That leads us to remember the analogy of how the church is a city on hill.
We live in a multi-cultural community where we put others first and look to help our fellow citizens.
As we have seen, it’s not just the meeting of physical needs that is important, but the meeting of spiritual needs.
The church has grown as people have experienced true Christianity in action.
It is vital for the church in this generation to be a place of hope.
A place where people can go and see the power of God active and see that God cares for all our needs and where we can carry each other burdens.
A place where people can see that, regardless of social status, we can come together to be reflect the image of God to the world.
If you are wondering how you can come alongside us and also partake in fighting unemployment in your local community, the simple place to start is to begin to pray for your community and the needs they experience.
We come alongside churches that want to start Centres of Joy and consult with you in how you can launch a dynamic community impacting program.
May we all continue to work hard to advance the kingdom of God in this beautiful metro.
Kaya Nkumbesi
Youth and young adults Pastor at Joy to the Nations Church
Despite this persistence, we have a youth unemployment rate of 59% in the country, and higher here in the Eastern Cape.
We had been seeing this reality outside our church in Walmer for years, with large numbers of predominantly men sitting outside, waiting for a bakkie or car to stop and offer them a piece job.
We felt a strong urge to act.
A plan came together over a Christmas lunch discussion.
Pastor Glenn Weiss and I decided to work together to build a team of enthusiastic change agents who wanted to work hard together to fight unemployment in our immediate context.
On 9 June 2021 we launched the JESU (Joy Employment & Skills Upliftment) Club.
Our Goal was to connect local job seekers with employers in a dignified manner that would lead our local church to being a place of hope for the local community.
On almost every Wednesday since then we have gathered at 9am to sing together then share encouragement from a local community leader on how our members can prepare themselves to best impact in the workplace when they get there.
Afterwards, the members break into small groups in order to do DBS (Discovery Bible Study).
At the end of the session, we provide a meal, a food pack and something from our garden.
We have also been able to develop some programmes to uplift our members.
Our most recent programme was the joy stitches initiative that was started by Zolani Booi where folks could learn various sewing skills.
A number of those attending have been able to launch their own business.
In June we celebrated our third birthday with an open day where we could showcase the impact of our hard work with various people from around the city.
The day started with our volunteers arriving early to give each other support and encouragement.
Glenn, who hosted the day, shared the impact the club has had over the years.
We have had the joy of see over 64 find employment, 1 045 people on our database, 54 employment partners, 12 small businesses supported, 7 990 food packs given out and many people saved and baptised.
After we had celebrated these facts, we were able to hear stirring testimonies from members of the club who had been impacted, and how attending has help them and their families.
We had one more surprise. All the members were gifted joy dollars on which they could use to buy three items of their choice from donations we had received.
These donations included clothes, kitchenware, books and much more.
Every one of our members was able to shop and leave with materials that will help them.
We also used the display of wonderful goods to encourage others to join the programme.
Donors could see first hand the difference they were making in the lives of people.
One of our volunteers prepared a wonderful meal for us, and some of the youngest members of the church made some lovely baked goodies to enjoy together.
Reflecting on the three years since that lunch-time discussion, we can see the hand of God in restoring joy and dignity to many families and seeing how a number of people who had gone nearly three to four years without employment were able to find a job.
That leads us to remember the analogy of how the church is a city on hill.
We live in a multi-cultural community where we put others first and look to help our fellow citizens.
As we have seen, it’s not just the meeting of physical needs that is important, but the meeting of spiritual needs.
The church has grown as people have experienced true Christianity in action.
It is vital for the church in this generation to be a place of hope.
A place where people can go and see the power of God active and see that God cares for all our needs and where we can carry each other burdens.
A place where people can see that, regardless of social status, we can come together to be reflect the image of God to the world.
If you are wondering how you can come alongside us and also partake in fighting unemployment in your local community, the simple place to start is to begin to pray for your community and the needs they experience.
We come alongside churches that want to start Centres of Joy and consult with you in how you can launch a dynamic community impacting program.
May we all continue to work hard to advance the kingdom of God in this beautiful metro.
Kaya Nkumbesi
Youth and young adults Pastor at Joy to the Nations Church
Source: TCN / Kaya Nkumbesi
Date Added: 2024-07-15
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Social upliftment,
Back to News IndexDate Added: 2024-07-15
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Social upliftment,
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