It was the busiest period of her life. Paige was working 60 hours a week in a job that pushed her past the breaking point on a daily basis. She was taking classes at night and studying every moment she could during the day to try to nail down a master’s degree. And just to make life even more interesting, she was trying to plan her wedding to her fiancé, Dan. It was the kind of life that had her regularly ending her day in tears. “This can’t go on," Dan would say. That is why it was all the more outrageous that one night, Paige sat Dan down and told him that she thought God was calling her to start a ministry to help people find jobs and discover God’s calling on their life.

Dan was wide-eyed. Knowing Paige’s already hectic work and life commitments, Dan discouraged her. “Are you sure right now is the right time to be doing this?” he asked.

“I’m sure. I know what God has tasked me with,” she replied, looking at him resolutely.
“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” Dan insisted, shaking his head.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, especially when she felt God was behind it, Paige pressed on. Eventually, Dan realized the call was from the Lord. It wasn’t long before they were serving together side by side.

The first order of business was to organize a job fair. It was a monumental collaboration with the Business Life Ministry and other ministries at Rock Church to provide free suits for interviewing, resume writing, prayer, and 25 volunteers to help set it all up.

The day of the fair came and 50 companies were lined up looking to hire. With very little time remaining before the doors were to open and job seekers already starting to arrive, there was one big problem. The critical 25 volunteers were a no-show. Before long, the line of people who were looking for work reached from Rock Church’s front doors all the way to Trader Joe’s. The employers were also arriving—and nothing was ready. Dan and Paige looked at each other as if to say, What do we do now? We thought God was behind this.

Just then, a bus pulled up and men began to file out. “Is this the job fair?” one man asked.
“Yes, it is, but we’re nowhere near ready,” Dan said, as he tried to figure out what they were going to do. “Where are you guys from?”
“We are all former inmates who were let out of prison today. We were brought here to find jobs. Is there anything we can do to help?”

Dan and Paige looked at each other as if to say, Oh us of little faith!

Since that day in 2008, God has been showing up every step of the way. Scores of people have found jobs through the work ministry via regular postings to their exclusive job board: therock.thejobconnection.org. Job seekers also receive Career Transition Bootcamp classes, job fairs, workshops featuring career and job search experts, and the newly added webinar series gives job seekers a chance to learn from experts on a variety of topics from writing resume, interviewing techniques, emotional intelligence, and leveraging technology for the job search to starting their own business. The best part about the webinar series is that it’s designed so people can attend from virtually anywhere. This has allowed the ministry to reach across all Rock Church campuses and different parts of the county. The Work Ministry’s Webinar series will resume in the Fall.

“I know there is the practical need for people to have jobs,” says Paige, “but God has impressed upon me the need to help people find work because we need to see our jobs as our primary ministry. And when we engage in helping others, it’s a greater feeling than can be described. God blesses my socks off every time I step out and serve Him.”

Check out their Facebook page at facebook.com/workministry and receive updates on their upcoming events.