{"id":196442,"date":"2025-04-21T10:43:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T10:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/activist\/church-offers-affordable-housing-on-its-land\/"},"modified":"2025-04-21T10:43:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T10:43:42","slug":"church-offers-affordable-housing-on-its-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=196442","title":{"rendered":"Church Offers Affordable Housing On Its Land"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_235997\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-235997\" style=\"width: 730px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"size-full wp-image-235997\" src=\"https:\/\/trueactivist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/church.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"730\" height=\"456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trueactivist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/church.jpeg 730w, https:\/\/trueactivist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/church-400x250.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/trueactivist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/church-640x400.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/trueactivist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/church-255x159.jpeg 255w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-235997\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Black Church Food Security<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Across religious traditions and denominations, a shared value persists: the importance of helping one\u2019s neighbors. For Pastor Michael Jones of Village of Faith Ministries in Sandston, Virginia, that principle is not just a theological concept \u2014 it\u2019s a call to action. In the face of rising housing insecurity, Jones is leading his congregation in a bold direction: transforming part of their church property into affordable housing.<\/p>\n<p>Village of Faith Ministries recently joined a national wave of faith-based organizations repurposing their land to provide much-needed homes. For Pastor Jones, the decision reflects both spiritual and practical concerns. <em><strong>\u201cWe knew that, at some point in time, we would look to position ourselves to sell a portion of it, or all of it, to simply aid where our congregation is trying to go in the future,\u201d<\/strong> <\/em>he explained in an interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcity.org\/urbanist-news\/virginia-church-set-to-convert-parking-lot-into-housing\">Next City<\/a> in January.<\/p>\n<p>Plans are underway to develop a segment of the church\u2019s 1.5-acre Southside property into a residential community with 192 apartments and 40 townhomes. This project is the result of a collaboration with homebuilding company D.R. Horton, which helped design a plan that would meet the church\u2019s financial needs while keeping rent at an accessible level. <em><strong>\u201cWe know that housing is a need,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> Jones said, underscoring the urgency of the project.<\/p>\n<p>Pastor Jones envisions the new housing development as more than just a cluster of buildings. He sees it as an extension of the church\u2019s mission \u2014 a place where people can find not only shelter but also community, connection, and support. <em><strong>\u201cOur churches should not be vacant Monday through Saturday,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> he emphasized. Beyond worship services, he wants the church to serve as a hub for local engagement, where residents can access essential services, interact with their neighbors, and even tend to a shared community garden on the property.<\/p>\n<p>Village of Faith Ministries is part of a growing faith-based housing movement that aims to combat the affordable housing crisis by turning underutilized church land into residential space. Across the country, congregations are constructing tiny home villages for the unhoused, providing zero-interest loans to low-income families, and offering rental assistance to vulnerable community members. This growing initiative is rooted in the belief that houses of worship should be active agents of change, especially in communities burdened by housing scarcity.<\/p>\n<p>To counter the stigma often attached to new housing developments \u2014 especially the resistance encapsulated by the phrase \u201cnot in my backyard\u201d \u2014 faith leaders have launched a powerful response: the <em><strong>\u201cYes, In God\u2019s Backyard\u201d<\/strong><\/em> movement. This national effort encourages churches and religious organizations to embrace development as a moral responsibility and to view their land as a resource for public good.<\/p>\n<p>This movement is gaining legislative traction. In California, lawmakers passed a bill titled<em><strong> \u201cYes, In God\u2019s Backyard,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> allowing religious institutions to develop housing on their properties without being restricted by local zoning laws. Inspired by this progress, Virginia\u2019s state senate began considering similar legislation in early 2025. The proposed bill, called the <em><strong>\u201cFaith in Housing for the Commonwealth Act,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> was still under review at the time of publication.<\/p>\n<p>Advocates say this legislation could open new pathways for churches looking to address housing insecurity.<em><strong> \u201c[We proudly support the] \u2018Faith in Housing for the Commonwealth Act\u2019 to build more affordable housing where it is most needed by allowing churches to build affordable housing on their land through a streamlined process,\u201d<\/strong> <\/em>the Commonwealth Housing Coalition said in a public statement. <em><strong>\u201cToday in Virginia, too many of our neighbors and community members struggle to afford a place to call home,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cWe have an opportunity to help more faith-based institutions help solve this problem by allowing them to build homes on their land.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>For Pastor Jones, that opportunity is already becoming reality. His congregation is preparing to offer 232 families more than just housing \u2014 they\u2019re offering hope, community, and a future rooted in faith and service.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>What are your thoughts?<\/em> <strong>Please comment below and share this news!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/trueactivist.com\">True Activist<\/a> \/ Report a typo<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Black Church Food Security Across religious traditions and denominations, a shared value persists: the importance of helping one\u2019s neighbors. For Pastor Michael Jones of Village of Faith Ministries in Sandston, Virginia, that principle is not just a theological concept \u2014 it\u2019s a call to action. In the face of rising housing insecurity, Jones is leading [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":196443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12022],"tags":[15103,16928,13350,4132,2212],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-196442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activist","tag-affordable","tag-church","tag-housing","tag-land","tag-offers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Church Offers Affordable Housing On Its Land - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=196442\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Church Offers Affordable Housing On Its Land - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Black Church Food Security Across religious traditions and denominations, a shared value persists: the importance of helping one\u2019s neighbors. 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