Every month we highlight someone working in multi-housing ministry in a feature called Beautiful Feet. This is based off of Romans 10:15. “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the Good News.” This month we are excited to share about LuAnn Turner.
Almost 30 years ago, I gained a partner in ministry – a person who has given her life to making disciples for Christ, and she is still a friend to this day.
LuAnn Turner was raised in the small town of Attica, Kansas and graduated from the University of Kansas. She and her husband Jack both served on staff with the Navigators. Then both became licensed counselors, and as I arrived at Bear Valley Church as an Associate Pastor, LuAnn was there serving as the Director of our Counseling Center.
Later, LuAnn became the Pastor for Small Groups, and she grew that network to an all-time high. Wanting to reach beyond groups of only church members, she began doing multi-housing ministry and enlisting church members to help her. We even sent LuAnn down to Mission Arlington and the legendary Tillie Burgin for training. The Bear Valley Multi-Housing Ministry thrived, operating in a number of communities in the west metro area of Denver.
A few other churches became involved, but to really expand the scope of the work, we needed to come out from under one church and be our own ministry. So, LuAnn led the founding of Mission 98, Inc., and served as our first Executive Director. In a short time, nearly 10 churches were working in parallel in more than a dozen locations.
LuAnn Turner was the epitome of the “Church Unleashed,” believing that her job as a pastor/ leader was not just to do ministry, but to unleash others to use their gifts, talents and skills as well.
The Mission 98 offices moved to the Bridge Church, another congregation that was community-minded and willing to share its resources. LuAnn retired to enter full time grandmother ministry, making disciples of her descendants, and later, in 2023, Mission 98 was reinvented as a national online community which now consists of individuals, ministries, and churches engaging in multi-housing ministry anywhere.
Mission 98 would not be where we are today without the dedicated service and leadership of LuAnn Turner. Eugene Peterson once defined discipleship as, “A long obedience in the same direction.” LuAnn Turner has certainly accomplished that, and to this day, she is a lovely lady with “beautiful feet.”
5 Things LuAnn Turner Taught Me That Impacts My Involvement With Multi-Housing Ministry
- Developing a supportive relationship with property managers is paramount. Find out what the manager believes the needs are and try to meet some of those.
- Keep showing up. Success is not about numbers but long-term faithfulness.
- Effective ministry results from listening more than talking. Teaching is good, but listening, especially to kids and to seniors, builds trust and receptivity.
- Resist giving advice to people who struggle. You never know even half of the whole story of what people are going through. Pray for God to give them the wisdom.
- Let people try their hand at multi-housing ministry. You will be surprised at who turns out to be called to this work and who will prevail and persist over time.
