This week, our “Americans at Work”photo essay features photographs of the NorthWest Bible Church’s Between Jobs Ministry in Spring, Texas, made by photographer Elizabeth Conley: “While the nation has been enjoying the benefits of cheaper gas at the pump, oil-producing states have seen the negative effects. The latest numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that between October 2014 and May 2016, there’s been a decline in oil and gas employment of 26 percent.
For more than 25 years, the NorthWest Bible Church in Spring, Texas, an outlying suburb of Houston, has been hosting a Between Jobs Ministry. People from all walks of life are welcomed to learn interviewing and résumé skills, find encouragement and a lot of faith that they can get through this difficult time. Hundreds of job seekers attend each week, overflowing the church’s parking lot with newer, well-maintained automobiles. The founder and spiritual director of the program, Roy Farmer Jr., sets the tone for the weekly meetings, constantly greeting attendees with a firm handshake or hug along with his ‘God has a plan for you,’ message.
[For more of this story, written by Emily Anne Epstein and Alan Taylor, go to https://www.theatlantic.com/ph...obs-ministry/513560/]
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