Whether you are a regular here or a just checking things out, thank you for visiting coveredindust.com! This blogsite is where I share thoughts on leadership learnings and life lessons within the context of the story that God is telling through my life as I have chosen to follow after Jesus. My hope is that through this journey of authenticity that all who are willing to chase after God would chose the heroic life that Jesus offers.
There are two ways that you can become a part of our team as we engage our neighbors with Jesus' message of hope and healing.
First, you can join our team through your ongoing monetary support of this mission. All donations are tax deductible since Apartment Life is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. To make a donation, please send your checks to the following address:
Apartment Life
1500 Norwood Drive
Suite 100
Hurst, TX 76054
OR
To donate via PayPal, click the button below to be redirected to the CARES Team website. Once you are at the CARES Team website, look for the "donate" button and you will then be taken to the PayPal site specifically designed for Apartment Life.
Please note "Hackbarth CARES Team Austin" in the memo section of your checks or with your PayPal donation so that the funds will be appropriated correctly.
Second, we are always in need of prayer partners on our team. Our prayer team is indispensable and we would be honored to have you join as well! To join our prayer team, please send me an email noting that you would like to get involved as a prayer team member. I typically send out 2-3 emails a month giving updates to our team.
The missional vision:
I am a Spiritual Entrepreneur in pastoral development and training through the Ascend Residency program at Gateway Church in Austin, TX, and I also serve as a CARES Team member through Apartment Life with my wife and son. The missional drive and vision that compels me to love my neighbors well through Apartment Life is to transform my neighborhood with the grace and love of Jesus. In other words, I am an urban missionary. Much like an overseas missionary, I have been planted into a culture where I must learn the customs of the locals. There is an unspoken undercurrent of how people live that exists within my apartment community and it is my job to learn that culture; to live well within that culture as a follower of Jesus.
The dire need for a spiritual revolution within apartment communities is almost overwhelming! In most major metro areas in the US, almost 50% of people live in apartment communities. This translates into almost 750,000 people in the Austin metro area. Furthermore, Apartment Life has observed that 95% of people living in apartments do not go to church. This means that there are approximately 712,500 people who do not have a church home living in and around Austin. My community at Steiner Ranch in west Austin has about 1,000 residents which means about 950 people are not plugged into a community of faith.
In our first 90 days since embarking on this missional journey, my wife and I have started over 25 spiritual conversations and have prayed with and for a number of our neighbors. One of our neighbors decided to start going to church due to our direct involvement. We are helping another neighbor get connected to Gateway's benevolent ministry due to a life crisis that they are enduring. While we are taking the initiative to love our neighbors well, let me say that God has been working in our community long before we ever showed up. We are simply partnering with God and joining with Him in the restorative work that He started. We could not do this without God.
Wherever life is leading you, I am glad that your journey has led you here. I hope that through it all you see God powerfully at work in your life and that it continually leads you to Jesus. May you be encapsulated by his grace and enamored by his love.
Peace.
dave
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dave
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