While the economy slowly lurches along and unemployment remains high, local churches are offering hope and empowerment for job-seekers.

"If we think about the point of the church, it’s to intercept people and get them on the track with God,” said MaryAnne Sorotko-Turner, an executive coach.

“When people are down and out, they should go to the church. That should be their first resource. We want to reach out to the community and let them know that.”

Ms. Sorotko-Tuner uses her expertise to teach people about the importance of attitude in the job-search process — the first step in the Crossroads “Crash” Course for Career Transition, a nonprofit program offered through seven local partnering churches, including four in Buckhead, plus two in Dunwoody and one in Marietta.

Church of the Apostles, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Peachtree Presbyterian and Mount Paran Church of God all take turns hosting these workshops. For $40, participants can purchase a workbook and attend the free two- to three-week sessions that coach job explorers on everything from aptitude and resume writing to networking, interviewing and negotiating skills. Scholarships are also available for those who cannot afford to buy the workbook.

The workbook materials come from the national Crossroads Network Career Ministry founded in Atlanta in 2000. The program is available for individual churches or cooperatives of churches to use in the format of their choice.

“We wanted to take the curriculum down to a quick and easy to master time frame,” said Mike Salet, a veteran recruiter who designed the North and Northwest Atlanta program, which began in April.

Buckhead resident Brian Ray, who helped found the ministry, which now has more than 120 involved churches in 20 states, said that according to a 2001 study conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management, 48 percent of job seekers network in places of worship and 24 percent of employers look for potential employees there as well.

“The church not only helps with career transition but they can help from an emotional and spiritual point of view and not just the Christian way but in the human spirit way,” he said. “They have ministries for family, financial and counseling services. You can go to one place and get everything.”

Workshops are open to anyone who wants to reconsider or reevaluate their career paths including those employed or unemployed. The program is available for everyone in the community, too, not just church members.

For Buckhead resident Angelica Segui Kuhl, who is a member of Church of the Apostles, the workshops gave the entrepreneurial Spanish interpreter hope.
“My lifestyle has changed and since I work by contract, I needed to find other avenues,” she said. “The program gave me the key to unlock lots of opportunities.”

The next crash course will kick off Oct. 9 at Peachtree Presbyterian.

To sign up, visit: www.xroads.eventbrite.com.