Couple Plans to Fund Ministry with Passive Income from Rental Cabins

We are always looking for ways to be a blessing to buyers and sellers of real estate in our area! Recently we had an exciting encounter with a buyer. It came from a call I picked up while I was exhibiting at the Gatlinburg Log and Timber Show.

Mark and Debbie Searcy were driving through the area when they saw a cabin for sale and felt led to learn more about how the rental cabin market works. They found a few lots and made the call to the realtor on the sign – me! The more they learned about rental cabins, the more certain Mark, who has worked as a builder, felt building cabins of their own was the best option. He and Debbie have already purchased three lots and are in the process of buying several others.

They shared with me that their intention was to create income from a set of cabins they could possibly build. I was excited! I was getting ready to teach a workshop at the Log and Timber Show on “Creating Passive Income with Cabins” and invited them to attend.

This North Carolina couple has a calling on their heart to spread the gospel in Panama through the passive income they can generate with this set of soon-to-be built cabins in Walden Ridge.

The rental income they collect from the cabins will fund their ministry, which they have named Awakening Fires International Ministries. Debbie and Mark Searcy said they picked the name because they want their ministry to awaken the fire of the Holy Spirit in the indigenous tribes in the area where they will be working.

Before venturing on the path to become missionaries, the couple owned a 40-acre home in North Carolina, where they have lived for the last 13 years. They had intended to retire there, but changed their plans after Mark Searcy was instantly healed from an illness.

“God’s taking us in a new direction,” Debbie Searcy said about the experience and how it changed them.

The couple plans to make their ministry a non-denominational program, and they are working with people already in the area who can help introduce them to some of the local tribes. The focus of their work will be heavily on building churches where people who come to Christ can meet for worship.

Prior to starting their mission work, Mark and Debbie Searcy will be heading back to Costa Rica to continue their language courses.

I’m so excited to have this opportunity to help them with their project to build cabins for the purpose of serving the Lord, and I’m glad they allowed me to share their story with you. Their strategy to use passive income from rental cabins to fund their ministry is just one of the many ways I have seen rental cabins help provide support for people and their families who need it.

Photo: Deborah Korlin, Debbie and Mark Searcy, and Deborah’s son, Greg Korlin, who is an agent on her team.