Local churches leading the charge against unemployment - Christian News
Share on Facebook
[ Back ]   [ Home ]   [ Latest Updates ]   [ Social & Moral Issues ]   [ News Main Page ]
Best viewed at minimum 600px screen width (Rotate your device to landscape orientation)
Featured Advertiser
Fluffy Frog
Where customers become friends
Scrapbook materials, beads and findings, bracelets & charms, T shirts
Classes & Scrapbook Club
~ Click for Full Page Ad
Shop 6, Bamboo Building, 7 Mandarin Street, Kabega Park
Tel: 041 360 8691
Visit our Christian Business Directory

Local churches leading the charge against unemployment

Church in the Community - Media Release in the Herald: 10 July 2023

Source: TCN / Raynaldo Arnoldus
Date Added: 2023-07-10

Category: General NewsTCN NewsIssues - GeneralIssues - Social upliftment
The church often aims to be the tip of the spear in the areas of spirituality, morality and social responsibility.

However, for many South Africans, the primary and daily struggle comes in the area of work.

Work and employment are vital elements of life, allowing responsible individuals to provide for their families and find a purpose and a mission for each new day.

Through the first quarter of 2023, South Africa’s unemployment rate stands at an alarming 32.9%, according to Statistics South Africa.

That’s where Work 4 A Living comes in.

Work 4 A Living is a quietly successful non-profit organisation that has been restoring the hope of employment for around 16 years.

The organisation focuses on partnering with the redemptive mission of the local church to create centres that change lives and futures one centre at a time.

By partnering with Work 4 A Living, local churches can bring effective change to every South African community. In this way, the local church has the chance to be the tip of the spear when it comes to equipping residents for work. After all, work is God's idea.

There is a dignity to employment that aligns closely with the heart of God. He believes in work and wants to restore to all people the grace that comes with it.

Connecting people to work is not far from the Gospel message, from the obvious aspect of financial provision to the less obvious sense of dignity and purpose.

In fact, the very first thing man is tasked with by God, in the beginning, is work. Genesis 2v15 says that once God created man, he placed him in a garden to work in it.

However mundane it may seem; the truth is that working well glorifies God.

The type of work is of less importance than the way we work. In the words of the late theologian and author Timothy Keller, “All work is God’s work.”

Restoring hope and the right order of life has always been and remains part of the Church's role in society.

Many churches find it difficult to depart too far from their function as preachers and teachers.

Yet the Bible teaches us to care for the poor, and what greater care is there than to restore?

So how, then, can local churches remain central in their purpose to bring the lost to Christ while, simultaneously changing lives and sewing into the area of unemployment?

This is where mission partners like Work 4 A Living can be so helpful.

Partnering with Work 4 A Living is a good way for any local church to propel godly principles without changing its primary function. In fact, according to The Global Commission Centre, a church in Gelvandale, Work 4 A Living has provided an opportunity to engage with the unchurched, address their worldview and transform a community in dire need of increased employment.

The lead pastor at this local church, Reuben Africa, beautifully describes the power of this partnership: “We started with Work 4 A Living in February, and we have already had 74 graduates.

It’s amazing to see the joy when students find work.

“ But it’s not simply finding work, it’s changing the destinies of families.”

Work 4 A Living aims to see a centre in every town and city in the world where poverty and need exists, and they are well on their way with centres in 18 countries across three continents.

They do this by partnering with people who want to see change, believe in discipleship in all aspects of life, and believe that the church is the agent that can bring that change.

These partnerships have resulted in the employment of over 10 000 people.

This program truly embodies the idea of breaking the mindset of poverty and restoring truth to those who are struggling, echoed by The Global Commission Centre, which concurs “Work 4 A Living aligns very much with our purpose of changing people’s worldviews and mindsets”.

Having started 16 years ago Work 4 A Living makes use of a tried and tested curriculum to break the mindset and cycle of poverty.

Restoring people to hope and equipping them with skills to become Kingdom-minded contributors to the workplace.

All partners need to do is gather a group of people and facilitate the program.

Lessons run for an hour at a time and can be done in a way that is most convenient for you and your group.

As the Church looks for ways to impact a society drifting further from restoration and wholeness, these mission-partner collaborations offer local churches an incredible opportunity to be a part of the spiritual change and discipleship.

This is put well by Pastor Reuben Africa: “Africa has been preaching salvation, and that’s important, but this goes beyond that. It’s about restoring dignity and I believe this is the church of the future. A Church that not only brings people to salvation but also equips them to go out.”

If you are interested in being an agent for change in your local community, consider facilitating a Work 4 A Living program by contacting info@work4aliving.org.

Raynaldo Arnoldus, freelance writer
Source: TCN / Raynaldo Arnoldus
Date Added: 2023-07-10

Category: General NewsTCN NewsIssues - GeneralIssues - Social upliftment
Back to News Index
_______________________________________________

Please read our disclaimer