Zeke Gutierrez

The story of the Kingdom of God is the story of family.

In turn, a Kingdom business will thrive when it is operating as a unified family – despite often having different views. When this happens, the business has the power to even unify the families within it.

Zeke Gutierrez is a Detail Technician for Betenbough Homes in Lubbock, Texas. He will be the first to tell you how, his job of all things, has unified his family.

“Before I took my job with Betenbough, I was in a bad place. I put myself first all of the time. I was drinking and smoking just to get through the day,” Zeke said. Knowing he needed a change, Zeke considered looking for a new job. One that would get him a fresh start around new people.

Zeke joined the Betenbough Homes family on March 28th, 2016.

“The job that was open was for Midland, Texas. Our family was living in Lubbock but I knew I needed this job. I had to do something different,” said Zeke. For a few months Zeke worked full-time in Midland and traveled home to see his family on the weekends.

“That time in Midland was hard, but I see why God brought it together like that,” Zeke said. “The jumpstarts (Bible Studies made available to employees) made such an immediate impact on me. I would reflect on what we talked about in that time and then go home to my apartment by myself – it gave me plenty of time to talk to God.”

A Personal Encounter

It was in a jumpstart in Midland that Zeke encountered the Lord in a powerful way.

“One day we were talking about forgiveness, and I realized I had a lot of offense I was holding onto,” Zeke said. “I grew up with no father and my mother was an addict. I realized I was holding onto so much anger. My whole life I thought ‘I don’t have a dad’ and that night in my apartment, God told me He was my Father and He has always been there,” Zeke said.

This revelation spurred Zeke to share what he had been learning with his family one weekend when he was home in Lubbock.

“I asked forgiveness from my wife and four kids, and it changed everything. There was a lot of freedom that came from that.”

From that night forward, the Gutierrez Family has been different.

“We are still beginners – we are figuring all of this out,” said Zeke. “Now we talk about Scripture together as a family and go to church regularly,” he continued.

The Daily Battle 

Soon after starting his job in Midland, Zeke was transferred to Lubbock so he could be back with his family. This was when Zeke had the opportunity to start living out these changes on a day-to-day basis.

“One morning in a Lubbock jumpstart, we were asked, who feels that they have a prayer that has not been answered? At this point, I had been praying for a while that my mother would be delivered from her addiction, and I was getting discouraged because nothing was happening,” Zeke said. “Another Betenbough employee spoke up and shared that they themselves had been delivered from a lifestyle of addiction in the past. They told me that eventually my mom might have to hit rock bottom, but that could be a turning point for her,” Zeke said.

A week and-a-half later, Zeke’s mother had a stroke.

“I was so scared, I didn’t know what was going to happen. Thankfully, she has pulled through and now I have a second chance with her. It did cause her to hit rock bottom, and through her experience, she has accepted the Lord into her heart,” Zeke said.

Even though Betenbough Homes may have introduced a Kingdom culture to Zeke, it was Zeke who chose to assimilate that culture into his own family.

“My mother is now a believer, we go to church with my older brother, and my younger brother who is currently incarcerated has even become a believer. We are excited to walk alongside him when he gets released this coming summer.”

Leaving a Legacy

One of the changes that Zeke is most excited about though, involve two of his children.

“Two of my sons, Jordan and Zeke Jr. both have been hired on at Betenbough Homes since I started my job here. It’s rare for a parent to get to work alongside their kids but I get to do it every day,” Zeke said.

One of Zeke’s sons stepped up and even led a jumpstart himself recently – a proud moment for his father to watch.

“Our whole family legacy is different now. The majority of people in our family are incarcerated so watching my sons become leaders makes me so proud. Before we worked at Betenbough, our family had a lot of disunity. Now, we are all excited to be involved in each other’s lives.”

The Gutierrez Family is still growing and they have their highs and lows, but the foundation they lean upon in those times is different, and so are they.

One of the core values of Betenbough Homes is unity. This is lived out and fought for daily.

The Gutierrez Family is a beautiful example of how unity in a Kingdom business spills over into everything around it – even entire families. Kingdom leaders can teach and preach this message all day, but ultimately, it has to be a reality in the culture of the business. If it is, it has the power to change every life it touches.