The church can reduce high unemployment rate

One of the fastest growing organizations in this country is the church. The church has been a great asset to the development of this country in diverse ways. Unemployment figures are consistently rising at an alarming rate.

Many studies have tipped the Private Sectors as the major key to reducing this canker. An important area that most experts do not focus in solving unemployment rate is the Church, which to me, has a lot to offer in creating diverse forms of employment for the people of this country.

The church is a community of people with a common goal, that’s, fellowshipping together to strengthen their faith and believe in Christ Jesus. Reflecting on the positive impart churches have made in this country, especially with respect to education and health, it is an undeniable fact that today’s churches can do far more to solve the problems of unemployment in this country.

This article cannot contain the negative effects of high unemployment rate on a society and the nation as a whole. Unemployment affects individuals, families, societies, communities physically, socially, economically, psychologically, spiritually and culturally. Solving unemployment will do much better to the growth of the church than to the president of this country. Like what Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16:18, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” so it is possible that unemployment cannot overcome the church if the church with prayer and guidance set plans to solve such canker in this nation.

I accidentally came across a financial report of a church and this had been my motivation for writing this article. According to the Finance officer, they made the decision that by the end of their twentieth anniversary, they should have created assets and jobs which would contribute to 80% of their financial income, while the 20% would come from tithes and offering.

Their focus was to improve the lives of the people in their church and beyond by creating sustainable jobs with Biblical principles of growth. They realized that if some individuals had set up flourishing businesses, why couldn’t they do the same as a church with one purpose.

They set up strategies and plans to execute this plan. This year marked their sixteenth anniversary and they had really gone beyond their target by building assets and jobs which are contributing 83% of their financial income with tithes and offering accounting 17%. Their population has increased to almost 600% since they started the church and keeps increasing.

They have been able to employ over 20% of their members and supported about 35% of their church members to be self-employed. Some of their recorded assets include; huge acres of land for farming in three different places, five clinics, six basic schools with crèche, transport services, financial services with branches, three printing press, two hostels, three big provision stores, two chemical shops, recreational parks for renting, six apartments for renting to shops and offices, three computer training institutes, some manufacturing and processing industries, and so on.

It sounds unbelievable, but it is real and possible. Though I gave my word to keep this church’s name in anonymity, yet, it speaks a great lesson to Christians, “With God, all things are possible.”

The question everyone is asking is this, “How did they make it this far?” These are some responses I got;

1. They dedicated time to build a community full of love and united in purpose

2. They formed a committed business project team to plan, implement and manage all the business ideas and, strategies on how they could achieve their goals.

3. They formed formidable policies with human development as their priority. One of the policies was to use 50% of their initial financial income to create sustainable assets and jobs. Another policy was to use 10% of their profit on the church building. One of their beliefs was that, when people developed, the physical infrastructures developed. Within eight years, they had used that 10% of their business profit, together with free will contributions from members to complete their magnificent Church building.

4. They formed a comprehensive insurance policy to cater for welfare issues in the church such that church coffers were not used to solve welfare issues. Their payment was made flexible to cover everybody irrespective of their financial status.

5. They stopped pressuring people to give forcibly, but dependent on God. For example, whenever they decide to take an initiative or project, they educate the church members about the importance and the impact of the project on people’s development. They spend time to pray to God to give them wisdom and guidance as well as fill the church with passion for that project. They come up with financial analyses, and how much the church can contribute to that project and float shares for members to invest in that project. They never force people to give out of compulsion.

6. They floated shares and permitted members to invest in specific businesses. For example, their initial cost for construction of the school was 10,000 in 2001. They floated shares at a certain price, that’s 500 per share and had 8,000 of the cost from their members. The church added 2000. The accrued profits from the business were shared according to the number of shares purchased by shareholders. This caused the fast acceleration of their businesses.

7. They put on structures to build love and continue in fellowship and engage in effective outreach and evangelism at low cost, but of great impact.

8. They permitted church members to submit business plans and proposals.

Members whose proposals were adopted and initiated were made to represent the church on the board of that business venture with other shareholders. They put up structures to enable created business to be sustainable and self-dependent.

9. Above all, they focused on how the money would never become an issue in the house of the Lord and that their time and focus were always on God and building themselves together in unity and love.

These are just a few measures outlined to help them achieve their targets. In a nutshell, the church is capable of even doing greater things. This is the time the church need to help solve problems. God created the church to live above its current potential.

The church is the solution to today’s problems and not politicians. There are Christian men and women with great ideas, but yet, the majority of the churches do not have assets except tithes and offering from members. It is time we stop focusing only on people’s tithe and offering as the major sources of funding for the church. The Church can do more and better in creating assets and jobs to help develop people to live for Christ. If we will make the development of people or members of the church our priority, I tell you, the church will solve unemployment issues in this country.