Real estate can feel transactional. But for Marisela and Russell Harper, co-owners of ClearView Realty in El Paso, it’s never been just about closing deals. This husband-and-wife team leads more than 200 agents and staff, and they’ve built something you don’t see every day: a company where faith isn’t tucked away in a policy handbook. It’s lived out in every meeting, every hire, and every hard conversation.
Their secret? They love their people. Not in a corporate buzzword way. In the get-your-hands-dirty, show-up-when-it’s-messy way.
The Backstory: Starting with a Builder and a Baby
ClearView’s origin story isn’t exactly typical. Marisela was six months pregnant with their third child when she launched the brokerage. She’d been representing a builder, and when her relationship with her previous broker hit a wall, the builder suggested they start something new together.
“I’m forever grateful for them,” Marisela said of those early Christian business mentors. “They’ve supported Russell and me and our family for so many years.”
The early days were scrappy. One agent became two, then three. But everything shifted when Russell joined the business. That’s when the vision for what ClearView could become started taking shape.
A Visionary and an Integrator Walk Into a Brokerage
Russell describes himself as someone who felt like the dumbest guy in the room when he first got into real estate. He struggled for two years before finding his footing. Then something clicked. He’d meet talented people outside the industry and think, “If I can do this, you can definitely do it.”
His approach wasn’t about growing ClearView for growth’s sake. It was about seeing potential in people and giving them a path to success. When those people thrived, they became the brokerage’s biggest advocates, and the growth just followed.
Meanwhile, Marisela brought the systems, the processes, and the operational excellence that turned individual success stories into organizational momentum. Visionary meets integrator. It’s the kind of partnership that is essential for sustainable growth: knowing your role and staying in your lane while trusting your partner to do the same.
Three Words That Changed Everything
Ask Marisela and Russell about their culture, and they’ll point you straight to their core values: Clarity, Integrity, Community, Faith & Family, Expertise, and Care. But these aren’t just words on a website.
“We’re super transparent,” Marisela explained. “Russell’s not afraid to say anything at all because if it’s real, it’s coming out. Everyone that we work with has to know that we’re just real. We’re not here to fake it.”
That transparency flows from a deeper commitment. As Marisela put it, “At the end of the day, we’re really doing it to please God all day long.”
This mirrors what C12 calls “committed Christian leadership”i. According to C12, cultural Christians keep faith private. Convenient Christians express faith through words alone. But committed Christians integrate their faith into every decision, every hire, and every hard conversation. Marisela and Russell land squarely in that third category.
Prayer Before Every Meeting (Yes, Really)
Here’s where ClearView gets countercultural. They pray before every single meeting. During interviews, they talk openly about God. Marisela keeps a box of tissue on hand because when people realize they’ve found a faith-based workplace, tears often follow.
“I’ve always been told, don’t mix work with your faith,” Marisela shared. “But I found that people are so hungry. As soon as you say, ‘Hey, we’re a faith-based brokerage,’ and we start our meetings off with prayer, they’re just like, ‘What?’ It blows them away.”
Russell added with a laugh, “If you want to get somebody to lose eye contact with you, just say, ‘Who wants to lead prayer?’ Everybody looks away.”
But some team members volunteer every time, bringing prayers that come straight from the heart. It’s become a defining feature of the ClearView culture.
This isn’t just good intentions. This is an example of true “faith and work integration,” where faith in Christ permeates leadership decisions and shapes company culture rather than staying compartmentalized.
The Power of Praying Grandmothers
Both Marisela and Russell credit their grandmothers with shaping their faith journeys. Marisela remembers lying in her grandmother’s bed as a little girl, afraid of mosquitoes on the ceiling. Her grandmother prayed over her, telling her in Spanish that God would protect her. That moment planted seeds of faith that took root.
Russell grew up between two worlds: his grandparents’ ranch where he learned to appreciate God’s creation, and his grandmother’s church where he learned to pray. Those early experiences created a foundation that now shapes how they lead.
And they’re thinking generationally. “[Our] prayers are not just for us,” Russell said. “We’re praying for our children, for future children, their children, our grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren. Hopefully those blessings just continue further than we even know.”
Love on Your People (And Then Over-Love Them)
When asked what practices other leaders should adopt to build values-driven cultures, Marisela’s answer was immediate: “Love on your people. Over-love on them. Find out more about them. Let them know you care.”
That’s not a metaphor. ClearView agents come to them going through divorces, deaths in families, sick kids, financial crises. Marisela prays for them constantly. The leadership team shows up in the mess.
It’s the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13. Patient with people’s growth. Kind in how they correct. Trustworthy when they make promises. Unselfish with their time. Truthful even when it’s hard. Quick to forgive. Dedicated to seeing people succeed. Watch Marisela and Russell lead, and you see all of it.
The results speak for themselves. Their COO started as Marisela’s assistant at the front desk and has been with them for years. Most of their staff members have been there for years. That kind of retention doesn’t happen by accident.
The Young Guns Are Coming (And They’re Impressive)
In an industry where older generations often complain about younger workers, Marisela and Russell tell a different story. They’re working with students who can now take real estate courses in high school and recent college graduates.
“They’re fearless,” Marisela observed. “They don’t know that they can’t. Usually when you’re in school for four, five, six years, you’re at a different maturity level where you might be more timid or fearful. But not these kids. They just ask what to do, then they do it..”
Russell was even more emphatic. “The interviews we’ve done lately with young people in their 20s? They are more disciplined, more structured, more detailed than anything I was doing at that age. When I compare it, they’re at another level. They are taking over. And they have faith. They’re not the faith of the future. They’re the faith of right now.”
When Work and Life Blur (And That’s Okay)
As a married couple running a business together, Marisela and Russell don’t exactly have clear boundaries between work and home. Marisela admits they fall asleep talking about work and wake up still discussing it.
But Russell brings humor that creates space when things get intense. And Marisela keeps Russell calm when his emotions run hot. They’ve figured out how to make the overlap work because they start each day grounded in prayer and gratitude.
“I’m big on gratitude,” Marisela shared. “Thank you, God, for this good night’s sleep. Thank you for this car that I drive. Thank you for the warm bed. Just constant gratitude. Then I’ll say the regular prayers. For Catholics, it’s Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Guardian Angel, then St. Michael. I do that religiously every single morning.”
That spiritual discipline creates the foundation for everything else.
Strategic Care for Your Team
Building a culture like ClearView’s requires more than good intentions. It takes investment. Marisela and Russell are constantly testing new approaches to develop their people. They rescheduled their Christmas party because December was overwhelming for everyone and moved it to January. They spend significant time and money on personal development for their team.
“We’re constantly asking God to guide us,” Russell explained. “God, tell us the direction. Do you want us to do this for them or that for them? And what’s best?”
Sometimes Marisela will coach someone and later think, “Where did that even come from? I couldn’t even tell you what I said. But I know it was beautiful.” That’s what happens when you lead with dependence on God rather than your own wisdom.
Cultivating compassion in the workplace means addressing physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Companies can do this in a variety of ways such as, care funds for families in crisis, care teams that show up with meals, and personal financial management programs for employees.
ClearView does this by meeting people where they are and supporting them through life’s challenges.
The Future? Keep Following Where God’s Leading
After 20 years and more than 200 agents, what’s next for ClearView? Marisela and Russell’s answer is refreshingly simple: keep following God’s lead.
“We never anticipated to be where we’re at right now,” Russell said. “So it’s in God’s hands. If we keep helping people and He keeps bringing us good people, then we’ll keep growing.”
Marisela added, “As long as God gives us good health and allows us the opportunity and continues to send us good people, we’re in it. I always say I’m going to work till I’m 80.”
Her real desire? To stay in a position of stewardship, loving on people, caring for them, making them feel valued. That’s the work that keeps her young.
What ClearView Teaches Us About Kingdom Business
The ClearView story offers a blueprint for Christian business owners who want to lead with faith but aren’t sure how to do it practically. Here’s what stands out:
Start with surrender. Marisela and Russell don’t just talk about God at work. They pray before meetings, talk about faith in interviews, and let people know their trust is in God. That creates permission for others to bring their whole selves to work.
Love your people relentlessly. Not with perks and pizza parties, but by showing up in their hardest moments. By praying for them. By caring about what they’re going through outside of work.
Build on core values that actually mean something. Clarity, integrity, and care aren’t just aspirational at ClearView. They’re the decision-making filter for everything from hiring to growth strategy.
Expect good things from the next generation. Rather than complaining about young workers, recognize their discipline, structure, and fearlessness. Give them opportunities and watch them run with it.
Remember that growth follows a mission. Russell didn’t set out to build a 200-person brokerage. He saw talented people, invited them in, helped them succeed, and growth was the byproduct.
This is what it looks like to lead as a fully committed Christian rather than a cultural or convenient one. It’s costly. It requires sacrifice. But it creates workplaces where people flourish and God is honored.
A Challenge for Christian Business Leaders
If you’ve been keeping your faith compartmentalized at work, Marisela and Russell’s story is an invitation to reconsider. What would change if you prayed before your next leadership meeting? What would happen if you talked openly about how faith shapes your decisions? What if you loved your people so well that they stayed for years?
The ClearView story proves that faith-based business isn’t just viable in today’s marketplace. Done right, it’s magnetic. People are hungry for workplaces where they’re valued, where integrity matters, where someone actually cares about them as human beings rather than just producers.
You don’t have to figure it all out before you start. Marisela and Russell didn’t have a master plan when they launched with one agent and a six-month pregnancy. They just stayed faithful to what God called them to do: love people, serve with integrity, and trust Him with the results.
Twenty years later, they’re still doing exactly that. And they’re just getting started.
Ready to Lead with Faith?
Whether you’re just starting this journey or ready to deepen your commitment, you don’t have to do it alone. C12 Business Forums provides confidential peer groups for Christian CEOs and business owners who want to build excellent, Christ-centered companies. Through monthly meetings with fellow leaders who share your values, executive coaching, and proven biblical frameworks, you’ll get the support and strategic guidance to integrate faith and business in transformative ways.
Marisela and Russell’s story isn’t unique to them. It’s what becomes possible when Christian leaders stop compartmentalizing their faith and start leading with full surrender. C12 can help you get there.
Learn more at C12Borderplex.com.
Additional Resources
For integrating faith at work:
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- Alliance Defending Freedom’s “Employers Guide to Faith in the Workplace” (available through C12 resources)
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- “Love Works: Seven Timeless Principles for Effective Leaders” by Joel Manby
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- “A Strategic Plan for Ministry” by Buck Jacobs
Scripture for meditation:
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- Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV): “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
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- 1 Corinthians 13:13 (ESV): “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Learn More About Marisela and Russell Harper
Marisela and Russell Harper are the co-owners of ClearView Realty, leading a team of more than 200 agents and staff in El Paso. Their mission is simple: guide people through real estate with clarity, integrity, and care while honoring God in everything they do.
Connect with ClearView Realty:
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- Website: clearviewep.com
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- Facebook: ClearView Realty | Marisela Harper
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- Instagram: @clearviewep
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- Location: 12247 Rojas Dr, El Paso, TX 79936 | (915) 855-1110
Listen to the Full Episode
Want to hear more about how Marisela and Russell built a faith-based culture at ClearView? Listen to the complete conversation here or watch on YouTube.
You’ll hear stories you won’t find anywhere else, including how they navigate tough decisions, what they look for when hiring, and why they believe the next generation of leaders is going to change everything.
About C12: C12 offers confidential peer groups for Christian CEOs and business owners who want to build excellent, Christ-centered companies. Through monthly meetings, executive coaching, and proven frameworks, C12 members learn to integrate faith and business in practical, transformative ways. Learn more at C12Borderplex.com.