A local church is starting a job ministry to fill what it sees as a service gap for people living in the northern half of Cherokee County.

Hickory Flat United Methodist Church is launching a new ministry to help residents in a variety of job-related areas this month.

The ministry will offer free, faith-based guidance on how to search for jobs, techniques to use for networking and interviewing for jobs, research skills, how to write an effective cover letter and resume, and how to stand out among other job seekers.

Church member David Bell is teaming up with Brenda Sherer, director of the church's community care ministry, to bring the job ministry to the public.

"I saw this opportunity and thought this could be a good fit," Bell said.

The job ministry will conduct meetings on the second Thursday of each month, which are free and open to the public. Each meeting will address a topic relative to a successful job search and gaining employment.

The first meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the church at 4056 E. Cherokee Drive.

The job ministry is part of its larger Community Care Ministry, which "exists to share the love of Christ with the Cherokee County community through practical support and life-enhancing programs," according to the church.

Along with the job ministry, the Community Care ministry offers a GED test preparation program, a life skills program and a seasonal care program.

Ms. Sherer said the job ministry will use the Crossroads Career Network, a faith-based job search and career resources database.

The job ministry, Ms. Sherer added, is designed to target residents in northern Cherokee, which she said "doesn't have that many programs" relating to job searching and resources.

Bell's interest in creating the job ministry stems from his own experience with finding work.

He was unemployed for six months and used myriad resources to search for a new job.

Along with a lack of programs for people living in northern Cherokee, Bell said he discovered the local job search and resource arena was tailored toward white-collar workers.

"I wanted to provide an opportunity for all workers to have the same amount of skills to seek employment," he said.

The need for such services in the county is great as unemployment remains high.

At First Baptist Woodstock, the number of people who continue to use its job assistance ministry continues to climb.

When the ministry began in 2007, there were 711 people who came through the church's doors for help, said Bill Plymale, job assistance ministry director.

That number jumped to 914 in 2008. In 2009, there were 966 people using the service. So far this year, 144 people have sought help at the church.

Plymale said the numbers are indicative that the economy is still rough for some residents.

Those patronizing the program, Plymale said, are mainly from Cherokee, Cobb, Fulton and Bartow Counties. He noted that about 60 percent of those seeking help are not members of the church, which has a congregation of nearly 18,000.

Ms. Sherer said she hopes people will use Hickory Flat UMC's new ministry.

Bell added it not only will provide one-on-one counseling to those needing help, but it also will provide them with the necessary skills to find and retain employment.

"We want to help them improve their life and help them get their feet on the ground," he said.