by Mollie Mohr, JfL Intern 

            Jobs for Life 101 Training served to equip leaders in churches and faith organizations who are new to or actively involved in leading Jobs for Life (JfL) in their communities. The full-day training on Friday, February 19th in Raleigh, NC, served as a networking workshop to help the participants gain a greater understanding of JfL in their ministries and learn how to use the training as a tool to transform lives in their areas.

            The workshop was led by David Spickard, President & CEO and Paula Bryan, Director of Customer Support, who directed the training in the four pillars of JfL: Leadership, Community, Training, and Jobs. The discussions engaged the participants and encouraged them to build relationships with other JfL volunteers while exchanging best practices on recruiting students and volunteers to implement a successful JfL class.

            Ford Jordan, Associate Pastor of Church of the Apostles in Raleigh, NC, said that he attended the conference because of a partnership with Neighbor to Neighbor and Apostles’ heart for the inter-city. “I want to be more intentional with recruiting a JfL leadership team,” said Jordan. With the support of Neighbor to Neighbor, Church of the Apostles has run JfL two classes and plans to continue using JfL as a tool for their ministry.

            In the training, participants discussed the different job descriptions of Site Leaders, Student Relations Leaders, Champion Leaders, and Business Relations Leaders.

            Maria LeFave, a volunteer of Gainesville Community Ministry in Gainesville, FL, said she attended JfL 101 because of an interest in becoming a Site leader in her community. “I want to work with people that are past the ‘hard knocks,’” she said. LeFave works with high school students in remedial reading and said her passion for teaching students in her classroom aligns with what JfL teaches. Her husband, Rick LeFave, director of Gainesville Community Ministry, agreed that the content learned in JfL is what her students need. “This [JfL 101] is very neatly fitting into what we need,” he said.

            Kenneth Foster, Pastor of Grace Community Outreach in Dover, DE, said he recognized a need for JfL in his area. “It [JfL] is such a natural fit. Dover is somewhat economically depressed, and we look to have an impact,” he said. Foster has been involved with JfL since it began as Jobs Partnership in Chattanooga, TN. He has been engaged in Mercy Ministry and taught a JfL class. With a desire to network and build a new JfL site, Foster arrived with Alex Cropper, a leader of Dover Interfaith Homeless Shelter in Dover, DE to prepare for upcoming classes. “The potential is going to be tremendous in Delaware,” Said Foster.

            Willie Walker and Ray Miller from Operation InAsMuch in Fayetteville, NC, attended the conference to obtain information. “We are looking to get a class started, looking for tools and the guidance to establish a program,” said Walker. Operation InAsMuch is 14 years old in Downtown Fayetteville, and Walker said he has a heart for men to know their role to work and their ability to seek a job.

            Miller said his most valuable experience with JfL 101 was the emphasis on being relational. “I’m not very comfortable with building relationships. That’s the difference between this and other organizations,” he said. Miller has been involved in youth ministries and rescue missions, and found out about JfL online.

            Sean Radke, Assistant Minister, Local Outreach at Good Shepherd Church in Durham, NC, said JfL 101 was helpful in casting a vision for starting a class at his church in Durham. “It [JfL 101] was very helpful for me in discerning the importance of leading a JfL class. It was very detailed yet flexible, and so allowed me to envision possibilities so that a team from our church could work effectively together, even with other churches and community ministries.”