Connecting neighbors to Christ: A look into Apartment Life Ministries
Photo courtesy of Seyi Ariyo at Unsplash
Samantha Meyeres, Staff Writer
Apartment Life Ministries is a nationwide program that began in Dallas, Texas, in 2000. They have around 650 programs across the United States, with 117 on the east coast alone. Their mission is to radically transform lives in apartment communities through making Christ known.
Apartment Life hires coordinators to live for a minimum of two years in their apartment complexes in order to provide an adequate amount of time to establish meaningful relationships. Apartment Life pays the rent of their coordinators in exchange for them being a light for the Lord in that apartment community.
The role of coordinator entails building relationships, caring for the residents and connecting them to a local church. To build community, coordinators host two or three resident events per month. These events can range from crafts to football watch parties to meet and greets.
Aside from resident events, coordinators care for their neighbors through celebrating occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries and also being there to help if their neighbors are sick or going through a hard season.
Growth director Lauren Morbitzer said that the extra steps coordinators take to make their neighbors feel seen, heard and loved makes a significant difference in the apartment community.
The biggest role of an Apartment Life coordinator, though, is to connect those in his or her apartment community to a local church. After establishing relationships, coordinators hope to show the light of Jesus to the residents by bringing them to a local church where they can find community and participate in Bible studies or life groups.
In the interest of building authentic relationships, coordinators plan intentional welcome and renewal visits. The welcome visits are where initial relationships are established. Coordinators will greet their neighbors and let them know that they are there should they ever need anything.
The renewal visits take place three to four months before the resident leaves. Coordinators will then follow up on how that resident’s experience was and anything else they can do to help out or make their transition easier.
Coordinators tend to be young adults, ranging on average from 25 to 35 years old. They are chosen for a certain area or property based primarily on their involvement in a local church, but interests and stages of life are also taken into consideration. Apartment Life wants their coordinators to be able to connect well with the residents, so they will choose people that are in similar stages of life as the other residents in that community.
Anyone looking to become a coordinator for Apartment Life Ministries must have some event or leadership experience, specifically in a church setting, and be connected in a local church. Apartment Life is looking for people who are willing to go out of their way to serve others and plan creative ways to keep people connected and show the love of Christ.
Morbitzer shared a few of the questions they consider when hiring: “Are they coachable? Where are they serving currently? How do they love their neighbors?”
Once the coordinators are hired, they are committed to two years at one property but can choose to remain longer if they desire. Typically those hired will choose to be coordinators for multiple different areas while they are a part of Apartment Life.
