Who We Are
CJC History – About Us
Dear Friends,
In my late 20s, I was successful, by the world’s standards, but was lost – without hope, as a battered wife. When I cried out to the Lord for help, He answered me and miraculously freed me from that situation. It was at that time He let me know I would be helping “women in need” in my future. But I had no idea what that looked like and when that might start.
The Lord had prepared me for His perfect timing as I finished a 30-year career as an Air Force Colonel and registered nurse. He prepared my heart’s desire and gave me a passion to help women become what God had intended for them – not according to the world’s way, but God’s way.
In 2004, founder Lynn Heckler recruited a core group of Christian business women who desired to offer a hand-up to women who were searching for positive direction and/or were bogged-down by life circumstances, situations the founding women had already experienced. The founders learned about Christian Women’s Job Corps®, received training and site certification, and solicited seed money to begin the local organization. CJC opened its doors to the first group of 11 women on March 7, 2005 as the Christian Women’s Job Corps of Kendall County. In 2008, the organization brought the Christian Men’s Job Corps® (CMJC) Program on-board and reincorporated as the Christian Job Corps of Kendall County with programs for women and men. The CWJC® and CMJC® are proprietary programs of the WMU (Woman’s Missionary Union) Birmingham, Alabama. At this time, CJC does not offer a men’s Job Prepped for Life program.
Christian Job Corps has trained and mentored over 500 men and women students since opening in 2005. I look back through the years and the many faces of our students and know we’ve planted seeds, equipped them for life according to God’s word, and empowered them to depend upon the Lord and exceed their hopes and dreams. I also know that we’ve broken generational curses and equipped parents to nurture and discipline their children according to God’s word – with love, grace, and mercy.
We are in another exciting new venture. In 2022, the Lord opened the opportunity for us to offer life-skills and transform behavior for those incarcerated in the Kendall County Jail. We began with the women inmates and in January 2023 added the men inmates. We are truly seeing lives changed before our very eyes. After merging with Bandera County in January 2023, we’ve added Bandera County Jail inmates to our training agenda. We also shared our curriculum and partner with Mercy Gate Ministries in Kerrville to offer the same programs to Kerr County Jail inmates.
CJC currently partners with the Hill Country Pregnancy Care Center for facilities and support activities, with the Patrick Heath Public Library for computer lab support, and the Goodwill Industries Good Career Center of San Antonio for employment opportunities. The CJC was incorporated as an interdenominational faith-based organization on December 30, 2004 and is a non-profit 501(c) (3) public charity.
We are funded by public donations and some grants. We do not accept government funding that would restrict our mission. CJC is transforming lives, please donate now!
At this time, we are greatly in need of your support to continue our services to offer a “life-line” to those so desperate to change the trajectory of their lives. I ask that you search your heart and pray for what level God would have you donate. We look forward to sharing our testimonials with you at the Luncheon and are excited to have you join us as a sponsor!
JOB PREPPED FOR LIFE, WOMEN's PROGRAM:
CJC helps unlock the future for women by offering them skills for life and vocation through the Job Prep for Life women's program. This biblically-based curriculum helps build confidence, embrace talents, complete a professional resume, hone interviewing skills, set plans to achieve goals, and seek employment that matches one’s potential. Computer mentors assigned as needed.
A seasoned cadre of volunteers provides clients with training essential for seeking and sustaining successful employment today, and for the future. Clients receive encouragement, guidance, and prayer throughout their journey.
CJC selects and screens all instructors, mentors, and volunteers; operates according to policies and procedures; measures its success and opportunities through evaluations; holds clients and instructors accountable to each other; networks for referrals, potential employers, internship opportunities, and vocational and degree granting institutions. CJC maintains certification from the national WMU organization.
INMATES PROGRAM:
CJC’s Inmates – Prepped for Life Program equips both men and women inmates to navigate their path toward better life-choices and a new start. We work with our students strengths and encourage them towards God’s intended path. The goal is to help them become healthier, happier, more productive people by dissolving self-imposed obstacles and limitations that we often place on ourselves. Often, the answer to one’s future is in their past. If someone is suffering from past or present hurts, our programs can help the healing process. Currently, the Inmates – Prepped for Life program is offered inside the Kendall County and Bandera County Jails.