Adelaide and I are so thankful that you are interested in our apartment ministry! These past 2.5 years so far have been filled with many challenges and blessings as we watch God’s hand at work! This article serves as an overview of what we do. It also shares our vision for what we hope to accomplish through you the reader and the local church. 

 In 2017 we moved to Columbia, SC, and at the recommendation of a friend (thanks Mr. Tom!) we began attending Beulah Baptist while I was going through seminary. We quickly fell in love with the kind community and the clear, expositional preaching. In the summer of 2020 Beulah ordained me before we moved to Augusta, GA, for a year long chaplain internship. The next summer we were praying about where to go next, and Columbia was on the short list. We made a list of pros and cons, and the greatest pro of Columbia was being able to attend Beulah. Shortly after making this list, Cameron DeBrew called me. Around the exact same time we would be moving back to Columbia, Beulah would be retiring it’s building debt. Cameron wanted me to spend time in prayer seeking if God wanted me to come on staff part-time and start an apartment ministry. 

Nearly 3 years later, here we are! There have been lots of ups and downs so far, but we have learned so much and shared Jesus everywhere we go. When we first moved in we were considering two different approaches, neither of which worked out! Many apartment community managers are struggling to simply keep up with things (much less build quality community among residents) and these two approaches aspire to capitalize on that. What we discovered, however, when we moved in, was that the Community Manager Rachel, is fantastic at what she does and regularly hosts events, building connections with residents. The maintenance team is also top notch, which is rare in an apartment community. 

The approach we use, then, is modeling what it means to be a loving neighbor. What a revolutionary idea that is (not)! 

It is our strong desire that we are not simply missionaries to this ‘urban village’ we live in. We desire to be role models for our church and other Christians to whom we are connected. 

When we started doing research and reading relevant material regarding apartment ministry, we learned that fruit from this type of ministry takes time. This is not a 3-step evangelism idea. The average consensus was that it would take about 5 years to possibly begin seeing fruit. So we knew from the beginning this task would take patient endurance and diligence! 

The evangelism approach we use is relationship evangelism—some call it incarnational ministry. Just as Jesus “dwelt among” those He ministered to, so we also live among those we are trying to reach. We work very hard to make sure the gospel is always ready on our lips. But incarnational ministry takes more than willingness to share the gospel. It takes the boldness to live the gospel. We are aware that every action and word of ours directly communicates to our neighbors what we really believe. How we react to a transgender child. Couples living together out of wedlock. Someone telling us they had an abortion. Flagrant homosexuality. Domestic abuse/neglect. Our social posture towards those who have different belief systems than our own. Residents know that we are strong Christians and the way we react to these things communicate our beliefs very clearly. 

While the principal fruit many of us are looking for (conversion to Christianity) take time, we have seen great results from our ministry. We have worked to maintain relationships that are not easy and we have had the chance to meet our friends’ needs in times of crisis. All the while the love of God is on our lips. 

We have enjoyed getting to know the local population. What we quickly realized as we moved in was that a large population lives there to have close access to USC Medical School, which is right across Garners Ferry Road. We know many international folks who are there as professors or doing post-doctoral research. There are also many short term residents who are there for the USC Medical School (this population tends to be much younger). Given that we are so close to Fort Jackson, there are also many service members and retirees. 

We go out of our way to meet people when they move in—offering to help carry furniture and bringing a welcome gift of cookies. From there we continue to build a natural but intentional relationship. We also host community potlucks and connect people that are in similar walks of life. We recently connected a short-term family of 4 from Kazakhstan to a military family from Ukraine. As it turns out they both speak Russian! Now these families are rarely seen apart from one another. 

We also find ways to share the gospel and invite people to church. Our best success comes when we invite people to Beulah’s special events, such as Christmas events or Fall Festivals. I am so thankful that Beulah works hard to make every ‘public’ event an opportunity to connect with the people of our church and share the gospel! 

So what does all this have to do with you? We have three requests. 

1.     Pray. Pray. Pray. I tear up as I write this. Nearly every week we are faced with some different heresy or challenging situation. We cannot do this without your support. We would be lost and adrift without a loving community supporting us. Pray for the lost souls we are seeking. Pray also that the 4 of us would remain grounded in God’s Truth and Love. 

2.     Engage our apartment community as you are able. If there is someone that you don’t recognize at church then go and introduce yourself! Do a prayer drive around our apartment community. Ask me or Adelaide how you can engage our neighbors! 

3.     Go and do likewise. This is a big one! Our heart for you is that you would also live missionally to your neighbors. Let the gospel always be on your lips. Have the boldness to let the gospel show through your actions and attitudes. Find ways to build community with your neighbors. We know it isn’t easy! But it will be worth it in eternity. Share your own prayer needs with your family in Christ and lean on each other for grounding and support in your evangelistic efforts. 

My prayer for you today is that the richness of the Gospel captivate would your heart. I know from first hand experience that all success comes from this! Psalm 1 highlights that the blessed man digs his roots deep into the Living Water. John 15 highlights remaining connected to the True Vine (Jesus). Fruit does not come from human effort. Rather, it is a natural, organic process that occurs when a plant has the proper nutrients and water. A Christian cannot bear fruit apart from abiding in Christ! 

If you have questions or ideas for reaching your community, I would love to help you in anyway. I will leave you with the following verse, which is my prayer for you. 

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

Ephesians 1:15-23