What is the ultimate fulfillment of your work in the church?    Thinking about this question – in relationship to your work in the church, and also in relationship to your entire life – can help bring a new focus and a breath of fresh air to what you are doing. 

Please let me tell you a story about our search for “ultimate fulfillment”.  I work with real estate agents as part of my vocation.  We started out in 1993 with a rather simple referral network – referring families who were moving, to REALTORS^® who we knew were exceptional because we would pre-screen and regularly evaluate them.  This was a good service.  It was valuable for the people who were moving and valuable to the REALTORS^® who were able to generate new opportunities to serve people. 

But then God made me uncomfortable.  He gave me a broader vision.  He helped me to see that REALTORS^® can be very influential in helping people become connected to the people of God in new communities.  Since a REALTOR^® is one of the first persons that a family meets when moving to a new community, being connected to the right REALTOR^® can do much more than simply helping the family find a home to live in.  Frankly, that vision has caused me some stress, lots of lost revenue and has changed the look of our referral network.  Prayerfully, I took the money that I was paying for national advertising, and diverted it into developing some new tools that would help REALTORS^® better serve and connect with families who are moving.  We developed some tools that will help churches and Christian schools become more visible to moving families and have new opportunities to REACH OUT and build relationships with moving families.

The ultimate fulfillment?  Building the body of Christ.  The steps toward that fulfillment have not been simple, but God has given me a sense of peace that overshadows the stress and lost revenue.  We decided to do something much more difficult than just connect families who are moving with excellent REALTORS^®.  We decided to try to help the REALTORS^® who are a part of our network grab onto a bigger vision for their work.  We decided to help churches find new opportunities for reaching out to people who are new and new strategies for meeting their needs and bringing them closer to God. 

We have begun a project that is MUCH bigger than we are.  It is “God’s thing” and the goals of the project are ETERNAL. Over the course of the last 4 years we have had to say good-bye to many of our REALTORS^®.  Some of them were not interested in the new direction that we were pursuing.  Some of them were frustrated because the number of referrals from our company decreased greatly when we diverted funds from our national advertising budget.  Some of them just don’t understand the new direction.  BUT, we have also been affirmed by many of our “old” agents and have been able to say “hello” to a new group of agents who are excited about the new direction and who have a common vision.  I feel as sense of peace as I look ahead.

We have found some research that has stated that up to 30% of the people who relocate do not re-connect to a church!  That amounts to a large number of people who are feeling the stress of a move, a large group of people with needs that can be met by the church in many respects!   We are beginning to get responses from church leaders like yourselves who have a desire to reach those families who are moving. We are in the final stages of creating some new materials for churches so that they can effectively reach families through a “Moving Ministry”.  God is continuing to show us areas where small changes in the habits of churches can bring great dividends in helping people feel more comfortable.  We are continually looking for new ways to share those findings.  This newsletter, Welcoming Community is one attempt at that.  We would love to use other ways as well.  Frankly, we are looking for some partners in this mission….partners that have been given a similar vision, and who have the “ultimate fulfillment” goals in mind and who have some prayer, people or financial resources to contribute.   

We typically provide a tool for you to use in helping welcome people in our church with each issue.  In this issue, I would like to simply highlight a tool that I am sure that you have used many times before, and which is probably the most effective tool in our arsenal.  I would like you to take some time to pray!  If you are willing to take some time right now, please stop for a few minutes and ask God for the following:

·         A new sense of understanding to the needs of people who are moving and a new understanding of how you and your church can meet those needs.

·         A new commitment to making room for new people in your church; a new burden for helping those people find a place to serve in your church and some new insights to be able to accomplish that more effectively.

·         A new commitment to ensure that people who LEAVE your church and community find a new place to worship and serve where they will continue to grow and to live their life for the baby whose birth we celebrate in this season. 

·         Some new partner churches, denominations, ministries and businesses to make the work of the EXODUS Network have an even greater impact on the world around us. 

There are some practical steps you can take too that will set the stage for God to work through you, through your church, through EXODUS and through our REALTORS^®.

• Go to USAChurchSearch.com (or CanadaChurchSearch.com) and add more information about your church so that when families who are moving search the site, they will find information that is helpful to them.
• Call at least 3 other Pastors and ask them to also add the information about their church!  (I hope that you don’t feel this is a threat to your church. Some churches are a better fit for families than others, and making sure that a new family finds the RIGHT fit is very important for their continued attendance.)
• Give us the name of REALTORS^® who you may know that serve their real estate customers with exceptional service and integrity and are also known to have a “Kingdom” perspective in their life. 
• Call the EXODUS Network (1-800-395-8556) EVERY time you know of someone who is moving into or out of your community.  We can keep our services are completely free to moving families if we are able to match those families with our prescreened REALTORS^®.  The REALTORS^® share part of their commission with us when they are successful in helping someone purchase or sell a home.  This revenue helps us to continue developing more tools and resources and allows us to continue serving.

We would love to hear from you.  Your ideas, insights, offers for help etc. are a valuable gift to us!  You may call us at 1-800-395-8556 or write us GreatAgents@ExodusNetwork.com.