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When someone is unemployed, that person's family suffers, too. Learn about their experience and get ideas for how the church can support those families.
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Introduction: When an individual is out of work, it impacts his or her family in a big way. What are family members thinking and feeling? How can the church help the whole family get through this difficult situation?
Summary:
- Just like individuals who are unemployed, families of the unemployed often feel like they need to keep it a secret. They are often embarrassed to talk about it. They feel as if people at their church won’t understand what they are going through.
- Being the spouse of a person that’s unemployed is almost more difficult than actually being the one that’s unemployed.
- The spouse is tasked with being the constant encourager and supporter for the family. The spouse is often the glue that holds the family together.
- The spouse also carries all of the anxiety of the situation.
- How can churches help spouses of the unemployed?
- Recognize the struggle they are going through.
- Ask specifically about the spouses and their wellbeing.
- Take time to send a text or call the spouses. This connection during the week is very important.
- What about the rest of the family?
- Kids process the fallout of unemployment, too. They often worry about money and feel angry in this situation.
- Churches can counsel parents and teach them how to connect with their kids. They can provide strategies to bring the family together.
- Churches can be a community for the families of the unemployed, can help families get connected to small-groups, and can give them opportunities to serve.
- Churches can ease the financial stress of unemployment. They can get proactive and reach out to ask financial questions in a sensitive manner. They can offer to waive fees, ease their worries.
Thought Starters:
- How has your church supported families of the unemployed in the past?
- What resources can you prepare now so that you’re ready when a person loses his or her job and the family needs support?
Resources:
How Long, O Lord: Devotions for the Unemployed and Those Who Love Them by Dale Kreienkamp
