Task Forces (Multi-housing)

From IICM

Purpose of the Missional Multihousing Task Force

Missional Multi-housing Task Force focuses on people who live in multi-housing environments

The Intercultural Institute for Contextual Ministry conducts research, creates resources and develops training for believers to reach various types of people groups. Many of those living in multihousing live in what we call "Aspiring Communities."

This resoundingly diverse ethnic group represents the up-and-coming of American society. Living within easy reach of or within major metropolitan areas, this group enjoys careers in information, sales, administration, education, health and other service professions. As many as 60% of Aspiring Contemporaries are renting singles, many are career builders enjoying a middle income way in mid-tier management positions. Many others live the unique lifestyles offered by military and university dorm life. However, this group is also four times more likely to be unemployed. Ethnicity is extremely diverse, and a majority fall within the ages of 18 to 34 years.

Typically residents in multihousing remain unreached with the gospel. While they are geographically close to many existing churches, they are culturally distant from most of the believers within the churches. The purpose of the Missional Multihousing Task Force is to discuss ways to foster Multihousing Missionaries (lay missionaries who engage these types of communities), develop cultural understanding of these type of communities, create materials and resources for them, design training processes, foster ongoing interaction between them in peer-to-peer learning networks, and improve their implementation as they engage multhousing communities.

There is no related travel for participants. We ask the Missional Multihousing Task Force participants to commit to four quarterly meetings over the next year with a time of 2 hours for each meeting via Skype. Beyond this commitment, the Task Force participants themselves may extend the sessions based on their own consensus.

Benefits for Participants on the Missional Multihousing Task Force

• Direct input into the design of the Multihousing Missionary training process, materials, and resources
• Collaboration with others who minister and train others as Multihousing Missionaries
• Ongoing case studies regarding implementation in various community settings.
• Input in the design of a grant proposal for developing Multihousing Missionary training and mobilization
• Option to become a Regional Multihousing Missionary Trainer who equips Multihousing Missionaries.

Co-Hosts for the Missional Multihousing Task Force
Curt Watke, PhD, Founder and Executive Director. Dr. Curt Watke, Exec. Director of IICM, North Augusta, SC		Barbara Oden, Director of Texas Multhousing Consulting. Barbara Oden, Director of Texas Multihousing Consulting, Dallas, TX

Missional Multihousing Task Force Participants

David Bunch

Dr. David Bunch, retired

Dr. David Bunch served as the assistant vice president of strategy, Extension Section, at the Home Mission Board, SBC. His responsibilities included coordination of the budget, program analysis, researching new programs for church extension, and supervision of national programs of Bivocational Ministries, In-Service Guidance, and Multihousing Ministries. He, along with Barbara Oden and Harvey Kneisel co-authored a book in 1993 titled: Multihousing Congregations: How to Start and Grow Christian Congregations in Multihousing Communities. He received a B.A. from William Jewel College, a Th.M. from Central Baptist Theological Seminary, and a D.Min. from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Ronnie Cox

Dr. Ronnie Cox, Acts 1:8 Strategist, Columbia, SC

Dr. Ronnie Cox serves as the Multi-housing & Acts 1:8 Strategist in the Missions Mobilization Group at the South Carolina Baptist Convention. He has developed a system for implementing new multihousing ministries that has resulted in about 120 new multihousing ministries in the last four years, including 13 properites with Care Teams living on the premises in relationship with Apartment Life of Euless, Texas. He has Written a six part training manual for establishing and maintaining multihousing ministries and has also created six podcasts and one on-line training unit for multihousing ministry. Previously he served as senior pastor of four Baptist churches. Dr. Cox graduated with a B.A. in Sociology/English from Furman University; a M.Div. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; and a D.Min. from Gardner-Webb University (M. Christopher White School of Divinity) where he completed a DMin project called "Church Renewal Through Multihousing Ministry."

Richard Gay

Rev. Richard Gay, Executive Director, Lifelines Outreach Ministry, Nashville, TN

Richard Gay is the Executive Director of the Lifelines Outreach Ministry that ministers to the greater Nashville Tennessee area. Lifelines Outreach shares the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and by making disciples in the greater Nashville area. Sharing includes feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, and loving our neighbors. Rev. Gay received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He went on to seminary at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas.

Rodney Harrison

Dr. Rodney Harrison
VP & Dean, MBTS, Kansas City, MO

Dr. Rodney Harrison serves as Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Director of Doctoral Studies and Dean of Online and Distance Education at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. He has been involved in church planting and mission ministry in California, the Dakotas, Minnesota and Missouri. Harrison is the author of two books on church planting and has written material for LifeWay Christian Resources and the North American Mission Board. He holds a Doctor of Ministry in Mission Administration from Golden Gate Seminary and has done post-doctoral studies at Oxford University.

Kimberly Lee

Kimberly Lee
VP Operations, Community Northwest, Lynnwood, WA

Kimberly Lee is the Vice President of Operations at Community Northwest in Lynnwood, Washington. Community Northwest is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life and the value of apartment communities. It recruits, trains and supervises on-site Community Teams to assist management in building community and serving residents. Previously she served as the Human Resources Director at Community Northwest; on the Cares Team at Apartment Life; as a school administrator at Corte Madera Montessori, and a teacher at International Christian school. She completed education at Central Washington University.

Louis Spears

Rev. Louis Spears
Church Planting Strategist, Mesa, AZ

Rev. Louis Spears serves the Valley Rim Baptist Association in Mesa, Arizona, where he assists church planters with ministries to multi-housing communities and mobile home parks. He also encourages church planters working with house churches and Bible studies as they begin new congregations.

LuAnn Turner

LuAnn Turner, L.C.S.W., Multi-housing Outreach Coordinator, Denver, CO

LuAnn Turner has served on the staff of Bear Valley Church in Denver, Colorado for 22 years; first as a Clinical Social Worker and then Director of the Bear Valley Counseling Center, then as Small Group Coordinator, and for the last 9 years as Multi-housing Outreach Coordinator. In this capacity she conducts community-building activities in apartment and assisted living communities in the west Denver metro area; leads a team of 50 volunteers who provide food assistance, community meals, groups, tutoring, craft classes and lay counseling in predominantly low income communities; leads activities and groups for at-risk children and youth including coordination and supervision of sports and other activities, providing a physically and emotionally safe environment for them, providing meals and mentoring; builds relationships with adults dealing with difficult life situations, mental illness and addictions; interacts with management as they work together to provide healthy and safe living conditions; teaches lay-counseling methods; identifies problem-solving resources and courses of action; provides referrals (as needed) to the most beneficial and cost-effective outside counseling resources; provides crisis intervention; trains volunteers and staff; and speaks to other organizations to encourage them to build similar neighborhood programs. LuAnn completed a B.S.W. and a M.S.W. at the University of Kansas. She is licensed as a social worker by the state of Colorado.