A caring community: Job loss and financial difficulties

The second in a series on the caring community at church, this post focuses on what your Sunday School or Life Group can do to show love to members who are enduring job loss or financial difficulties.

I believe this is another area where it is prudent to discuss with your leadership team and your minister before acting.
 First of all, your department minister or head pastor may already have support ministries in place for those who are struggling with these issues.  Second, your church may have a policy or preference on how to deal with these situations.  Especially if you are new to church leadership, your minister may have experience and wisdom to draw upon that will assist you in making a good decision on how to best for those in crisis.

If your minister agrees that it is okay to reach out and offer assistance to the individual or family in need, here are some tips that can help:

• Be discreet and honoring to those in need.  Unless the job loss or financial struggle has been publicly announced, don't make it public without permission of that individual or family.  If you have permission to make the need public, stick to the facts and keep it simple, "The Jones family is facing some difficulties as Ronnie has recently lost his job.  Please keep them in your prayers as he seeks new employment.  We will let you know what you can do to help them out in the next few weeks during the job search."
• If you take up a collection of cash or gift cards, allow donors to be discreet and anonymous.  This could include passing an envelope around the classroom on Sunday with the announcements clipboard, or instructing donors to give to the teacher/director/small group leader after class.  Since most people don't carry cash or check books these days, you may need to announce your collection date ahead of time.  Ultimately, I believe cash is better than check books because it can be collected anonymously and used for anything.  Gift cards are a good stand-in for cash, especially depending on the family's needs.
• If you take up cash or gift cards, either give it directly to the family or have a witness with you when you count it.  It's important to be above suspicion in all you do, and also to avoid temptation (1 Timothy 3:1-13).  If you are not able to give the donation envelope directly to the family after collection, I recommend you count the funds collected in front of a witness from your leadership team and make a note of it for your minister.  (I don't recommend announcing the amount collected to your class, as it could become cause for comparison at the next collection for a family in need).  If possible, have the witness at counting accompany you for the delivery of the funds. 
• Offer non-financial means of support.  Free babysitting during a job interview, the use of a computer and printer, or even a shared family meal at your home can be extremely valuable to those enduring financial difficulty.  Find out what the family can use and share those ideas with your group.
• Know your boundaries and be consistent.  Sometimes unemployment can be long-term and multiple families in your group can experience it at the same time.  As we discussed in last week's post, being consistent and caring to all will help remove perceptions of unfair treatment, and will help your members from feeling burned out in giving.  

As a last point, I would caution you against those who are always in "need" without seeming to gain any ground.  Unfortunately, there are individuals who exist in a seemingly constant state of crisis.  While everyone can hit a streak of unfortunate circumstances, there is a point at which the need for help can escalate into an unhealthy state, drawing in the resources of those who are well-meaning and wish to help week after week, month after month.  If something about the individual's situation seems odd to you, pray about it and seek wise counsel from your minister or an elder in the church.

When I was single, I went through a difficult period of unemployment between the time I met my husband-to-be and our marriage.  I had to move back in with my parents two hours away from the college town where I had been living for eight years. The college town was where I had the support of all my friends and church, and I had virtually no connections in my parents' hometown.  One of my good friends from church was living with her parents, and her family allowed me to stay with them overnight when attending interviews in my college town-- they even gave me a key to their house!  They would let me eat meals in their home, comfort me during very dark days, and just show me the love of Christ in so many ways.  I'm pretty sure there is no way I could ever pay them back for their generosity, but I believe they will have a great reward in Heaven for it.

What are your tips for helping with job loss and financial difficulties in your church group?  Please share in the comments section below!