~ APARTMENT
LIFE
~ The Next Frontier in Community
Outreach and Relational Evangelism
~ A
Message from Stan Dobbs, Founder and President of Apartment Life
Have you been searching for a practical and effective way to reach your
neighbors for Christ? Apartment Life is a cool and innovative new
outreach strategy for apartment communities. Apartment Life
provides subsidized apartments for married couples or pairs of single
adults to do ministry in a specific apartment community. If you
have a passion for people and a heart for ministry, keep reading...
Apartment Life may be the ministry for you!
~ Ministry
Overview
"Our desire was to live a life of intentional ministry to our
neighbors and CARES has given us a platform to do just that" say
Wes and Mitzi Hood, who serve as a CARES Team with Apartment Life, a
non-profit ministry dedicated to reaching apartments with the gospel.
Another CARES Team, Donald and Amy Devereaux, share that "this is
incredible ministry! Who would have thought that apartments would
allow Christians to serve like this? My neighbors are not
"apartment numbers" now - they are friends."
Apartment Life partners with local churches and the apartment industry
to
place Christian teams (called "CARES" teams) from local
churches into
apartment communities. These teams receive a subsidized apartment
to help
apartment management serve residents and build an authentic sense of
community. CARES Teams become the "hub" of community
life, which forms
the foundation for sharing the gospel. In 2001, CARES Teams built
2679
spiritual relationships, connected 499 people to local churches and saw
64
professions of faith.
"Apartment Life represents a fundamentally new paradigm for
Christian
outreach anchored in three principals" shares President and Founder
Stan
Dobbs. "The first is being incarnational - planting Christians in
strategic positions within specific communities. Second is
intentionality - empowering these teams to live an intentional and
accountable Christian life of ministry and outreach. Finally is
business partnerships - recognizing that partnership with the
residential real estate industry holds enormous potential for the body
of Christ."
Apartments are vital to the mission of the Church. In many major
cities,
a full half of the population now lives in apartments. Yet only 5%
of
apartment residents are active in church - compared to 40% of
homeowners.
Apartment Life serves a catalyst to empower more effective church outreach. "We have thousands of apartment residents within a
stone's
throw of our church. Apartment Life gives us a powerful way to
reach
them," says Charles Thornton, Minister of Evangelism at First
Baptist
Church of Euless, TX. "Apartment Life puts our people in a
position to
love and serve apartment residents and introduce them to Jesus Christ
and
the church," says Todd Wagner, Senior Pastor at Watermark Community
Church, Dallas, TX.
CARES Teams are the heart of the Apartment Life ministry. These
teams
(married couples or two single adults) receive a subsidized apartment
and
commit 20 hours per week (as a team) to the community. CARES Teams
perform functions that flow naturally out of the Christian life
including:
welcoming residents, planning social events, and ministering in times of
special need. CARES Teams intentionally build relationships that
provide
opportunities to share the Gospel and connect residents to church.
The
CARES program also provides business value to apartment industry
partners
by reducing resident turnover, attracting new residents, and improving
staff job satisfaction. "The CARES Teams provide a wonderful
complement
to the services we provide our residents, and play a major role in
resident retention" explains Fred Chaney, Senior Vice President at
Lincoln Property Company.
Apartment Life has experienced explosive growth since it's inception in
March 2000. CARES Teams are now serving on over 140 apartment
communities across the country - including Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston,
Austin, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Denver - and new communities are opening
daily. Several other cities are in the planning stages.
Apartment Life seeks CARES Teams and evangelical church partners that
have
a passion for outreach in their community. For more information,
visit
CaresTeam.org or call 1-877-785-2963.
Frequently
Asked Questions
If you are interested in having
your church partner with Apartment Life to impact your community, call 1-877-785-2963
or e-mail info@apartmentlife.org.
~ Tell a friend to check out APARTMENT LIFE @ CaresTeam.org.
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