Christian Women's Job Corps loses Trudy Johnson but keeps focus

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) - What does a woman in need look like?

Is she a welfare recipient living in poverty? Is she underemployed with no hope of providing for her family on a meager income? Is she just coming out of prison wondering how to make a life for herself?

Perhaps she is working in the adult entertainment industry in search of someone to show her a better way. Or maybe she's the homemaker who suddenly finds herself single due to unforeseen circumstances and must enter the workforce unprepared.

Through Christian Women's Job Corps, a ministry of Woman's Missionary Union, countless women in these situations and others have discovered direction and hope for their lives. For the past 10 years, Trudy Johnson, CWJC director for national WMU, has coordinated efforts to advance this ministry across the United States and help equip women for life and employment.

However, effective Jan. 5, Johnson will take on a new ministry opportunity at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Ala. Johnson will direct the Jeremiah's Hope Skills Center, a CWJC-like initiative at the hospital to help individuals with entry-level jobs and to provide encouragement for further education to build their careers.

CWJC was born out of a vision of WMU leadership beginning in 1994 and subsequently designed by a CWJC task force. It was established as a ministry of WMU in 1996. In six short years, Christian Women's Job Corps, which started with six pilot sites, has grown to approximately 130 sites across 21 states.