It was a small group that met on a particular Tuesday morning at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Omaha.

That’s not all bad, according to Verne Sandhurst, the church’s administrative executive. Three of the group’s members had received potential job offers during the previous week.

St. Thomas Lutheran Church logoAnd so it goes for St. Thomas’ job transition ministry - an ebb and flow of participants entering into small group conversations and informative workshops as they attempt to remain or reenter the workforce.

The job transition ministry program began earlier this year as a result of the nation’s economic downturn. Sandhurst said that the church held a two-day seminar covering topics for job seekers including interview skills, résumé writing and coping with the grief associated with job loss. The seminar was followed by small group discussions and exchanges with various professionals.

A group discussion is held each Tuesday morning at 7:30 in the church’s fellowship hall. It is this setting that the participants can visit, listen to each other’s stories and provide one another with practical advice and support.

Sandhurst reports that of the initial set of 14 participants in the program, all but one have since found employment. A new group of 13 participants have entered the program, only three of which are currently members at St. Thomas, making the program one that is truly about outreach.

The ministry’s success has led a nearby church to seek a partnership with St. Thomas in job transition ministry. But, according to Sandhurst, program growth is not necessarily the goal of job transition ministry.

“The objective is for the program to be put out of business,” he said.

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