Finding Purpose Through Investment in Multi-Family Communities
by David Snyder
I believe that there are two justifications for man’s work in the Bible. One is for your work to be an opportunity to support your ministry, like the example of Paul. The second is for your work to be a platform for your ministry, like the example of Daniel. I am fortunate to be called to the second justification, and I find myself challenged with the responsibility to look at my profession as an opportunity to affect the lives of others and to emulate the love of Christ in all that I do.
But how does one use his profession as a platform for ministry? Sometimes our lives reflect functioning in a secular fashion during the week, while allowing God to speak to us on the weekends. (Where in the world did that come from?) Being a “Catalytic Christian” is a lifestyle, a 24/7 lifestyle. It is not a weekend endeavor. Effectively, using your profession as a platform for ministry is easier to understand if you consider two aspects to your profession.
There is the function of what you do, and…
There is the purpose of what you do.
The function of a race car, driven by Jeff Gordon, has the same function as my wife’s car. The function is to turn potential energy into kinetic energy, thus providing thrust. So, what is the difference in the function of a Christian investment firm and a non-Christian investment firm? I would argue that there is no difference in the function. Both firms are called to adhere to a methodology to protect their investors’ capital and to make it grow.
The big difference lies in the purpose of what we do. The purpose of Jeff Gordon’s car is much different than my wife’s car, even though the function is similar. The purpose of our investment company is much different than that of a secular company, even though our functions are similar. Our function is similar to secular investment companies, but our purpose is to make an active difference in the lives of those in our professional sphere of influence. We are dedicated to impact tomorrow through the relationships we have with our investors, employees, stakeholders, residents, and vendors.
Function and Purpose of Continental Realty Group – How We Respond to Current Events
I have previously mentioned the “function” of our firm. Our function is to protect our investors’ capital and to produce the most advantageous monetary returns possible.
While our function is one of the wings that keeps our corporate airplane flying, the other corporate airplane wing is our “purpose.” I believe that we have a purpose and opportunity to affect the lives of our investors, residents, and employees spiritually, educationally, personally, and financially in a very constructive manner. We have the ability to help determine what Tomorrow’s World looks like.
Preparing for Tomorrow’s World – We can prepare for tomorrow, which is constantly changing, by ensuring that the business, the assets it manages, and the people it works with are ready for the heightened pressures, growing responsibilities, and new opportunities in the markets of tomorrow so that we can consistently outperform through the cycles of the future. The following statistics are supported and expounded upon in my attached PowerPoint on multifamily investment:
37% of US Households are renters, and this number is growing.
9 million new rental households have been created over the past decade.
Home ownership is at 63% and is falling.
Vacancy nationwide, in multi-family real estate, is approximately 5%.
98% of renter households do not have a church home.
Housing demand is escalating:
Boomers are renting at higher rates than ever before.
Gen X is remaining renters longer in life.
Millennials are renting in higher amounts due to their mobility.
Gen Z is on its way and is even bigger than the millennials.
More people in our society are going to be living in multi-family communities in greater numbers—and for longer—than ever before in our history. This is a major demographic change—and opportunity—that the church today can use for Kingdom growth. Many residents, of all income levels, will never own a home in their lifetimes. Many families will be raised in multi-family communities.
Investing in Tomorrow’s World – We can invest in Tomorrow’s World, which is currently at stake, with investment strategies focused on opportunities that safeguard and enhance value for investors, whilst making a lasting and positive difference in the cities and people of tomorrow. We can do this by:
Adapting rental communities to allow individuals and families to develop and thrive. Live-Work-Play designs and community programs allow for healthy lifestyles and spiritual development.
Designing and building new communities to support the families of tomorrow—single family rental communities designed with healthy community living in mind.
Helping to create Tomorrow’s World – We can help to create Tomorrow’s World, which supports thriving communities, businesses, and ecosystems, by creating outstanding places for people in the communities of tomorrow—where community-wide prosperity is unlocked, and environmental systems are restored. We can create:
Community programs for social relationship of all income levels.
Community programs for educational advancement and motivation.
Community programs for social and spiritual development.
Being ready to be a part of Tomorrow’s World – Continental Realty Group is an active and positive corporate citizen, engaged and influential in the business of tomorrow, with:
Sanctuary initiatives to support our residents through local crises and pandemics.
Mentoring and educational initiatives to promote excellence.
Spiritual development initiatives to foster Godly relationships.
New construction and affordable housing initiatives.
Long-term ownership and impact-investing initiatives.
We intentionally strive to impact tomorrow.
We strive to impact the future of our residents.
We strive to impact the future of our investors.
We strive to impact the future of our team members & employees.
We strive to impact the future of our families and the families of our residents.
The Opportunity
Being a multi-family owner provides the opportunity to “walk alongside” of our residents through life. It can be a paraclete relationship where we earn the right to walk beside our residents as they traverse the path of life that they are on. A property management professional that is in-tune with his/her community knows who just got a promotion at work, who just lost their job, whose mother just died, who is battling depression, and who is struggling with family issues, etc. We have the opportunity not only to create relationships but also to earn the right to speak into our residents’ lives— to comfort them, to celebrate with them, to offer them advice, to support them in prayer, to educate them, and to encourage them to grow into the best person that they can be. We have the ability to influence what Tomorrow’s World looks like.
We are living in a day where many people in our society will never own a home in their lifetime. They will raise their families in multi-family communities and navigate life from that perspective.
This represents an opportunity that is staring us right in the face. What are we willing to do about it?
How many multi-family communities do you drive by on your way to church each week? How many multi-family communities are within a 5-mile radius of your church? What is the church’s response today to the thousands of unchurched people living in close proximity?
Community Care Response by Our Property Management Personnel and Our Cares Teams During Crisis
We take great pride in partnering with management companies and working to hire the best qualified property management personnel, who have a heart to serve others. Additionally, we have always initiated Cares Teams on our properties, whose responsibility is to promote “community” with our residents and to identify with and meet their social, personal development, and spiritual needs. These teams dedicate 50 hours a month to ministry and relationship development in every one of our multi-family communities. These teams have a 20-year history at Continental. We feel that our staff is uniquely prepared to make a difference when our communities face crises.
Our property management and Cares Teams are daily serving our residents. Today, our residents deal with isolation and a lack of information. Our staff is taking every step possible to meet these needs.
They are identifying “at risk” residents on each property that we own and maintaining contact to assess their needs. Management personnel are coordinating any necessary response.
They are organizing delivery efforts of food and medicine to residents who do not want to venture out in public.
Management and Cares Teams are now organizing and coordinating social services and local church aid to residents of our properties.
They are providing personal check-ins via postcards, calls, emails, and texts.
They facilitate online and virtual connections to create relationships and influence.
They host virtual gatherings to facilitate community.
They assist with package delivery for high-risk or isolated residents.
We want our residents to feel fortunate that they are in a Continental community.
Call to Action
I encourage US investors and CEF participants to contemplate how they can change their investment strategy through intentional living.
Intentionally decide to make a difference in what Tomorrow’s World looks like, while receiving a competitive return on your investment.
Intentionally encourage your local church to actively embrace the multi-family communities around them and reap the rewards of an additional local ministry outreach.
Intentionally encourage Christian Universities to consider a curriculum in servanthood and property management to populate and change an industry that affects over 1/3 of our population.
Be mindful of the function and purpose of all of your investment activities. We
In Closing
I want my life and my company to stand for excellent function and for Christ’s purpose. We take our function of investment performance to our investors very seriously, and we are honored to be a significant part of our investors’ and our residents’ lives, providing the ultimate purpose. I believe that we have an opportunity at CRG to affect the lives of others in a very constructive manner.
I hope that any fear of the current pandemic and economic challenges will be replaced with optimistic anticipation of the wonderful things that come from working together for a successful future for all.
While this paper shares the ministry aspect and the ministry opportunity in investing in multi-family housing, as an addendum to this paper, I have included a presentation showing the economic evidence for practical, Kingdom investment opportunities in multi-family housing.
——
Article originally hosted and shared with permission by The Christian Economic Forum, a global network of leaders who join together to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ. This article was from a collection of White Papers compiled for attendees of the CEF’s Global Event.