Making Housing Happen: Faith-Based Affordable Housing Models
churches are effectively addressing the housing crisis from Washington State to New York City-where an alliance of sixty churches has built five thousand homes for low-income homeowners, with virtually no government funding or foreclosures. This book not only presents solid theological thinking about housing, but also offers workable solutions to the current crisis: true stories by those who have made housing happen.
Editor - Jill Shook (2013)
Churches are effectively addressing the housing crisis from Washington State to New York City-where an alliance of sixty churches has built five thousand homes for low-income homeowners, with virtually no government funding or foreclosures. This book not only presents solid theological thinking about housing, but also offers workable solutions to the current crisis: true stories by those who have made housing happen.
Editor - Jill Shook (2021)
We Aren’t Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry
This book is an invitation to envision a different way of putting God’s gifts to work in the world. It draws upon a remarkable story of rebirth at a Presbyterian affiliated campus ministry center at the University of Wisconsin, along with profiles of other creative social enterprises, to describe how church property and investment assets can be put to work for innovation, transformation, and financial sustainability. Theologically rooted but practically minded, it provides guidance and tools for church and nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors of all kinds who are seeking new ways to fund and participate in God’s work in the world.
Author - Mark Elsdon (2021)
This book is an invitation to envision a different way of putting God’s gifts to work in the world. It draws upon a remarkable story of rebirth at a Presbyterian affiliated campus ministry center at the University of Wisconsin, along with profiles of other creative social enterprises, to describe how church property and investment assets can be put to work for innovation, transformation, and financial sustainability. Theologically rooted but practically minded, it provides guidance and tools for church and nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors of all kinds who are seeking new ways to fund and participate in God’s work in the world.
Author - Mark Elsdon (2021)
Retired, Rehabbed, Reborn: The Adaptive Reuse of America’s Derelict Religious Buildings and Schools
“Retired, Rehabbed, Reborn features ten in-depth case studies of adaptive reuse outcomes for religious buildings and public schools that have achieved varying degrees of success. Several case vignettes appear within various chapters to illustrate specific points. The book is a useful tool for architects, planners, developers, and others interested in reusing these important structures.
Authors - Robert A. Simons, Gary DeWine and Larry Ledebur (2017)
Retired, Rehabbed, Reborn features ten in-depth case studies of adaptive reuse outcomes for religious buildings and public schools that have achieved varying degrees of success. Several case vignettes appear within various chapters to illustrate specific points. The book is a useful tool for architects, planners, developers, and others interested in reusing these important structures.
Authors - Robert A. Simons, Gary DeWine and Larry Ledebur (2017)
Remove the Pews: Spiritual Possibilities for Sacred Spaces
“A church is both building and people, bricks and mortals. First came the attendance decline among mortals; a bricks crisis followed. Now church buildings are an endangered species. . . . This book is about that move out of denial into response. Evolutionary thinkers call such moves “adaptive.” I call them creative evolutions, adapting as we go. I call them learning to live to pray another way, another day.“
Author - Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper (2021).
“A church is both building and people, bricks and mortals. First came the attendance decline among mortals; a bricks crisis followed. Now church buildings are an endangered species. . . . This book is about that move out of denial into response. Evolutionary thinkers call such moves “adaptive.” I call them creative evolutions, adapting as we go. I call them learning to live to pray another way, another day.“
Author - Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper (2021)
Historic Houses of Worship in Peril: Conserving their Place in American Life
“In a world that is racing to knock down the old and quickly build the new, this book is a much-needed pause. - Matt Molfsky, Lead Pastor, The Gathering.”
“Thomas Frank lays out the case for how historic houses of worship serve as community anchors, symbols of neighborhood character, places of personal and collective memory, and sites of cultural identity. - Paul W. Edmondson, President and CEO, National Trust for Historic Preservation.”
Author - Thomas Frank (2020)
“In a world that is racing to knock down the old and quickly build the new, this book is a much-needed pause. - Matt Molfsky, Lead Pastor, The Gathering.”
“Thomas Frank lays out the case for how historic houses of worship serve as community anchors, symbols of neighborhood character, places of personal and collective memory, and sites of cultural identity. - Paul W. Edmondson, President and CEO, National Trust for Historic Preservation.”
Author - Thomas Frank (2020)
A Call to Rethink Dying Houses of Worship
Published in Public Square, the online journal of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), this article is co-authored by Chris Elisara, the lead for the Studio of Placemaking and chairperson of the CNU Christian Caucus. It explores four overlapping areas that congregations need to simultaneously consider in order to successfully redevelop their property for the mutual benefit of the congregation and the community they are embedded in.
Published in Public Square, the online journal of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), this article is co-authored by Chris Elisara, the lead for the Studio of Placemaking and chairperson of the CNU Christian Caucus. It explores four overlapping areas that congregations need to simultaneously consider in order to successfully redevelop their property for the mutual benefit of the congregation and the community they are embedded in.
How to plan for the post-pandemic future of church buildings
Published in Faith & Leadership. The number of congregations closing could rise sharply after the pandemic. The time to explore using church real estate wisely is now.
Published in Faith & Leadership. The number of congregations closing could rise sharply after the pandemic. The time to explore using church real estate wisely is now.
The Promise of "House of Worship Districts"
Published in Strong Towns. The writers of this piece offer one possible approach to how underused houses of worship can come together and contribute to strengthening their communities.
Published in Strong Towns, this article offers an approach for understanding how underused houses of worship can come together and contribute to strengthening their community.
7 Dos and Don’ts When Considering the Redevelopment of Church Property
Published in Lewis Center for Church Leadership. More and more faith communities are asking how they might make better use of expensive and underutilized facilities. Rick Reinhard offers practical advice in the form of seven dos and don’ts to help a congregation approach property redevelopment realistically and faithfully.
Published in Lewis Center for Church Leadership. More and more faith communities are asking how they might make better use of expensive and underutilized facilities. Rick Reinhard offers practical advice in the form of seven dos and don’ts to help a congregation approach property redevelopment realistically and faithfully.
A call to examine United Methodist real estate
Published in UM News. The real estate crisis is the church’s elephant in the room, writes Rick Reinhard. He argues individual congregations must collect and assess data to determine their future.
Published in UM News. The real estate crisis is the church’s elephant in the room, writes Rick Reinhard. He argues individual congregations must collect and assess data to determine their future.
Can Churches Help to Ease the Affordable-Housing Shortage?
Published in Governing. Houses of worship own billions worth of empty, deteriorating or underused real estate. Some local governments and denominations are moving to carve it into badly needed housing, but there are plenty of obstacles.
Published in Governing. Houses of worship own billions worth of empty, deteriorating or underused real estate. Some local governments and denominations are moving to carve it into badly needed housing, but there are plenty of obstacles.
Church must tackle its real estate crisis
Published in UM News. The United Methodist Church has an extensive real estate portfolio that holds significant value but also poses a financial threat.
Published in UM News. The United Methodist Church has an extensive real estate portfolio that holds significant value but also poses a financial threat.
Churches Are Closing. It’s a Challenge for Local Governments.
Published in Governing. Across the country, houses of worship are shuttering by the thousands. Municipalities have a role in finding new uses for abandoned buildings that have long anchored communities and neighborhoods.
Published in Governing. Across the country, houses of worship are shuttering by the thousands. Municipalities have a role in finding new uses for abandoned buildings that have long anchored communities and neighborhoods.
Redeveloping Houses of Worship
Published in ICMA. Municipalities should be proactive in working with religious leaders, developers, and the community for the future of these unique properties.
Published in ICMA. Municipalities should be proactive in working with religious leaders, developers, and the community for the future of these unique properties.
Surplus sacred space: Reflections on the impending glut of US church property
Published in Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal. Dramatically more churches will close in the US over the next decade as the numbers of self-identified Christians declines, the COVID-19 pandemic inflicts financial pain and the large number of church buildings become unwieldy. Churches that wish to survive must examine alternate uses for much of their overbuilt real estate. Congregations, developers and municipalities must be ready for how to redevelop empty church sites and how to convert existing churches to mixed use.
Published in Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal. Dramatically more churches will close in the US over the next decade as the numbers of self-identified Christians declines, the COVID-19 pandemic inflicts financial pain and the large number of church buildings become unwieldy. Churches that wish to survive must examine alternate uses for much of their overbuilt real estate. Congregations, developers and municipalities must be ready for how to redevelop empty church sites and how to convert existing churches to mixed use. Municipal agencies and developers must understand how to deal with churches, given the special nature of their mission and their decentralised management structures. This paper discusses how it is in the best interests of churches, developers and communities to plan for alternate uses of church properties. It concludes that collaboration on church redevelopment and repurposing will result in significant benefits for all involved. Brief case studies of four churches are presented, with relevant questions.