Principal, Breakwater Light

Jennie Birkholz, MHA is the Principal of Breakwater Light, a consulting firm that partners with diverse organizations to improve the health and wellbeing of others and where they pray, play, learn, work and live. Jennie served in the community behavioral health and substance use disorder field for over 15 years before becoming a national consultant. Jennie earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Texas A&M University and a Master of Healthcare Administration from Texas State University. She loves audiobooks, walking her dog in the rain and making sandcastles on the beach with her family.

The Value of Rural Churches and Fresh Hope

Membership in rural churches is in decline and congregations are aging. Fresh hope for rural churches can be found in the rooted history of these community churches. Churches were one of the first buildings established in communities and served not only as a place of faith but as schoolhouses, hospitals, and community hubs. In small towns there are limited resources, so faith communities continue to fill in those social services gaps. They are central distribution centers, emergency shelters, childcare centers, and wellness support centers. Leaning into this role will improve the well-being of the community and the church.

Vice President & Mid-Atlantic Market Leader, Senior Advisor for Faith-Based Development Initiative. Enterprise Community Partners.

David Bowers is vice president and Mid-Atlantic market leader for Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. He also serves as the Senior Advisor for Enterprise’s Faith-Based Development Initiative. His work includes facilitating affordable housing and community development transactions and policy implementation in collaboration with public and private sector stakeholders in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas. Since David joined Enterprise in 2004, the organization has invested more than $1 billion million in capital to support affordable housing efforts in the Mid-Atlantic region, preserving or producing more than 12,000 homes. David earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and his Master of Divinity degree from Howard University. He is an ordained minister and a founding member of the Greater Washington chapter of 100 Black Men.

Lessons from Nehemiah for Faith-Based Property Development

This chapter will explore how houses of worship can use their undeveloped or underdeveloped land for the development of housing and community facilities that serve low and moderate income communities these purposes. It looks at lessons from the biblical book of Nehemiah and how those lessons can inform modern day approaches to faith-based development. It also looks at practical lessons learned from David’s experiences with Enterprise Community Partner's Faith-Based Development Initiative.

Principal, The Arroyo Group

Philip Burns, AICP, is managing principal of The Arroyo Group, an urban design and planning firm based in Pasadena, California. Philip has worked with cities and congregations in a variety of manners to design more equitable, vibrant and sustainable communities, including supporting over fifteen religious congregations in the process of envisioning, advocating for and implementing affordable housing on their campuses together with the other members of the Congregational Land Committee of Making Housing and Community Happen.

The Real Estate Advisory Team (co-author)

With dwindling congregations and limited funds to address differed maintenance on underutilized buildings, oversized sanctuaries and parking lots, God is giving power to weary churches by providing a path to renewed well-being by having affordable housing, new neighbors in homes they can afford and new income to continue ministries. Making Housing and Community Happen, The Arroyo Group, Mitchelville Real Estate Group , and LA Voice have teamed up to help over 56 congregations in Southern California create their vision and to become equipped to partner with an affordable housing developer that would fund, build, rent, and maintain the project as well as to bring a fair return for the congregation. This chapter will outline how this works, best practices, and how to create a similar team for your region using case studies, personal stories, and technical expertise.

President and CEO, Richmond Memorial Health Foundation

Mark D. Constantine is president and chief executive officer of Richmond Memorial Health Foundation (RMHF). RMHF works explicitly to foster an equitable and healthy Richmond region through grant making, research, convenings, and impact investing. Dr. Constantine has authored two books. Dr. Constantine holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business (Duke University) and a Master of Theological Studies degree from Duke Divinity School. He serves as the Chair of the Virginia Funders Network and is also on the Board of Partners for Sacred Places and a past Board member at Episcopal Relief and Development.

Obstacles and Opportunities for Philanthropic Partnerships with Congregations in Transition (co-author)

Philanthropists, especially those with a grounded commitment to local communities, could be crucial partners in re-imagining the future of religious properties. But what do philanthropic leaders know of the problem, and what do they think should be done? Are funders aware of the accelerating transition of religious properties in the communities they care about—and if so, what questions are they asking, what partners are they finding, what investments are they making, and what visions of the common good are guiding their actions? The authors will ask these questions of selected philanthropic leaders and synthesize what is learned in order to offer a set of ‘philanthropic perspectives and possibilities’ on the transition of religious properties.

Lead Pastor, The Emory Fellowship, Washington, D.C.

Joseph W. Daniels, Jr. is the Lead Pastor of The Emory Fellowship in Washington, D.C. He is a nationally sought after preacher, teacher and speaker on the topics of congregational, community and economic development. He and the Emory congregation recently facilitated the construction of a $59 million, 99-unit affordable rental housing, commercial and community development project called The Beacon Center. Through his company entitled, The Ananias Consulting Group, LLC, Joe coaches and consults leaders and non-profit organizations desirous of revitalizing congregations and communities.

Legacy Can Lead to Life

This chapter tells the story of The Emory Fellowship in Washington D.C. and their multi-year journey to build affordable housing for their neighborhood. The property the church is on has a long and complicated history filled with racism and injustice as well as love and light. By staying focused on their core mission, holding fast to God in prayer, and developing housing, they were able to redeem and reclaim a spirit of love and light on their property.

Executive Director, UCC Church Building & Loan Fund

The Reverend Doctor Patrick Garnet Duggan was ordained to the Christian Ministry in 1989 and obtained Full Ministerial Standing in the United Church of Christ in 1995. He earned the Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, the Master of Divinity and the Doctor of Ministry degrees, both from New York Theological Seminary. Dr. Duggan has served as Senior Pastor of the Congregational Church of South Hempstead/ United Church of Christ (CCSH) since 1995. Under his leadership, CCSH has experienced sustained membership growth and missional vitality for 27 years.

A bi-vocational pastor for most of his career, since 2012 Dr. Duggan has served as Executive Director of the United Church of Christ Church Building and Loan Fund (CB&LF) in addition to his pastoral duties. The oldest church building society in the United States has financed more than 4,000 church real estate projects in 168 years.

The Case for Missional Remaining Missional

Many church properties have generated missional impact in their neighborhoods for decades or sometimes centuries. In this season of rapid change for congregations, church properties may no longer be used for religious purposes, but as God's assets, the highest and best new uses of these properties must be those that advance the mission of the church in new ways for decades or centuries to come.

Pastor, Arlington Presbyterian Church

Ashley Goff is the pastor at Arlington Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Arlington, VA and ordained in the United Church of Christ. Ashley’s family has origins in southern and central Ohio, going back to parts of Europe. Ashley graduated from Union Theological Seminary in NYC where she fell in love with the art of liturgy and the ways of organizing community. She lives with deep gratitude for several communities which have formed her along the way: Denison University, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, the Open Door Community, Rikers Island jail NYC, and Church of the Pilgrims (PCUSA).

When God's Call is Bigger Than a Building

In 2016, Arlington Presbyterian sold the land it was on and its building to a local non-developer to create Gilliam Place, a 173-unit affordable housing apartment building. APC was called by God to do something about the affordable housing crisis in Arlington County, VA. The stories of neighbors not being able to live and work in Arlington broke their hearts. From those stories, a call was born. APC now has its worship and office space on the entry level of Gilliam Place to maintain its commitment to the affordable housing crisis and be in community with its neighbors.

Co-Director of Racial Justice, Minnesota Council of Churches

Jim Bear Jacobs was born in St. Paul, he is a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation, an American Indian tribe located in central Wisconsin. He has degrees in Pastoral Studies and Christian Theology and has served various churches as youth minister, adult Christian educator, and director of Men’s Ministries. Presently he is parish associate at Church of All Nations Presbyterian Church. He is a cultural facilitator in the Twin Cities and works to raise the public’s awareness of American Indian causes and injustices. He is the Director of Community Engagement and Racial Justice for the Minnesota Council of Churches. Additionally he is the creator and director of “Healing Minnesota Stories,” a program of the Minnesota Council of Churches dedicated to ensuring that the Native American voice is heard in areas where it has long been ignored.

Righting Some Wrongs by Returning Stolen Land

Over the last several years there has been a movement within church communities to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery. The Doctrine of Discovery is a 15th century papal edict that granted theological authority to monarchies to claim, conquer and vanquish indigenous peoples and their land. Eventually this doctrine would provide the legal authority for private land ownership. Within the last decade a growing list of churches have officially repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, at local, regional, and national levels. This has led many congregations to create land acknowledgement statements that essentially admit that their church occupies stolen land. As church membership has declined and more and more churches face decisions on what to do with assets the question must be addressed; Is there a responsibility to the indigenous peoples of their land?

President, Partners for Sacred Places

A. Robert Jaeger is President and co-founder of Partners for Sacred Places, America's only national non-profit organization dedicated to maximizing older religious properties as assets for both congregations and their communities. He is author or co-author of Sacred Places at Risk; Conservation of Urban Religious Properties; Sacred Places in Transition; and Religious Institutions and Community Renewal, was the founding editor and columnist for Inspired magazine, and is the editor of Sacred Places magazine.

The Impact of the “Halo Effect” on a Congregation’s Community

As many congregations shrink in size and struggle to carry out the good stewardship and use of their buildings, their future will increasingly depend on a new and fuller understanding of their role in society. They need to be seen and supported as more than places of worship, but as civic assets that bring enormous value to the community at large. This value has been powerfully demonstrated by several rounds of research on the “halo effect” of sacred places, i.e., their larger economic and community impact, conducted by Partners for Sacred Places and the University of Pennsylvania.

Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies, Yale Divinity School

Writing in the areas of liberation theologies, cultural identities, and anthropology, Willie Jennings is the author of more than 40 essays, reviews, and books including: The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race and After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging. Jennings is an ordained Baptist minister and has served as interim pastor for several North Carolina churches. He is in high demand as a speaker and is widely recognized as a major figure in theological education across North America. A Calvin College graduate, Jennings received his M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in religion and ethics from Duke.

Foreword: In Search of the Good Home—Is There a Place of Salvation for the Church?

This foreword invites the reader to enter into the book by first thinking and living ethically through our relationship to place. Church property is more than simply property. As Dr. Jennings says, “Only if we turn property into a word about sharing can we give witness to the God who gives and sustains life.”

Principal / Development Lead, Threshold Development Group

Tyler Krupp Qureshi is a Principal and Development Lead for Threshold Development Group. A social entrepreneur, educator, and community developer with twenty + years experience in small business and higher education, he is interested in how the built environment can support sustainable and thriving community. Tyler has a MS Degree in Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A student of law and philosophy, he also has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Yale University; the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Making the Most of the Church and Developer Partnership

This chapter will explore the possibilities for redeveloping Church real estate from the perspective of a practicing real estate developer. The focus will be on concrete cases Tyler has been involved with, but also broader questions of what is possible, and how government policy and civil society actors might shape those possibilities.

Presbyterian Pastor & Sociologist

Eileen Lindner is a Presbyterian minister who has served congregations in Illinois, New York and New Jersey. She holds a Th.M and Ph.D from Union Theological Seminary in New York. She served on the staff of the National Council of Churches of Christ, U.S.A. as Director of Research and finally as Deputy General Secretary. There she was Editor of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, the single largest database for denominational life in North America. At the NCC she was the primary investigator for two landmark studies, one documenting the extent of church housed child day care programs and, a national survey of congregationally based health care programs. In recent years she has been studying the trends in church owned property transfers.

Church Property in a Diminishing Religious Footprint

An essay which surveys recent trends in church property sales and the implications of such sales for both ministry and communal life. It will include a summary of the acceleration of these trends in the wake of the pandemic and identification of potential future outcomes.

Project Director, Shifting Ground, Lake Institute on Faith & Giving

Elizabeth Lynn has founded and led several programs designed to expand moral imagination for civic engagement, including the Center for Civic Reflection and Valparaiso University's Institute for Leadership and Service. Through her writings she has contributed to contemporary understandings of philanthropy and the humanities in American life. Currently, Elizabeth leads Shifting Ground, an initiative of Lake Institute on Faith & Giving that is focused on deepening conversation about the changing landscape of faith, philanthropy, and community. She co-authors the weekly blog Digging a Deeper Well with her husband Mark Ramsey for the Ministry Collaborative.

Obstacles and Opportunities for Philanthropic Partnerships with Congregations in Transition (co-author)

Philanthropists, especially those with a grounded commitment to local communities, could be crucial partners in re-imagining the future of religious properties. But what do philanthropic leaders know of the problem, and what do they think should be done? Are funders aware of the accelerating transition of religious properties in the communities they care about—and if so, what questions are they asking, what partners are they finding, what investments are they making, and what visions of the common good are guiding their actions? The authors will ask these questions of selected philanthropic leaders and synthesize what is learned in order to offer a set of ‘philanthropic perspectives and possibilities’ on the transition of religious properties.

Senior Program Director, Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement & Lecturer, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University

Nadia holds a PhD from The New School, and Masters in Environmental Studies, where she specialized in urban planning from York University in Toronto, Canada. She previously taught at New York University, The New School, and Columbia University, where she was Managing Editor of the journal, City & Community. Her research focuses on urban policy, redevelopment, housing, sustainability, and neighborhood change. Her latest research examines how faith-based institutions are using their property to build affordable housing, and at the same time advocate for and change land use, zoning and housing policy. Passionate about urban planning and community development, Nadia is a member of the Planning Board and Environmental Commission in Hanover Township, New Jersey.

Changing the (Zoning) Code to Build Bonds between Church and State

Churches have always been a part of the historic fabric of the city. They provide not only spiritual guidance but also many social services. As times have changed, churches must also evolve and change. Building a relationship with planning departments and other municipal stakeholders is an important part of the transition process. This relationship building can be used to change housing policy, zoning reform, apply for funding or create programs that would benefit both the house of worship and the city.

Professor, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Kurt Paulsen is a professor of urban planning in the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. His teaching and research focuses on housing, affordable housing finance and policy, land use, and municipal finance. In addition to his published academic research, he has authored two Dane County housing needs assessments, has chaired the City of Middleton Workforce Housing Committee, and does economic impact analysis research for WHEDA (Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority). Kurt is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

Proactive City Planning for Church Property Transitions

Because the research tells us that thousands of church properties are likely to transition to other uses in the coming decades, city planning departments, local governments, and nearby neighborhoods can proactively plan for these transitions. Although the process of property transition can be confusing or conflict-ridden, proactive planning that involves all stakeholders in a community process can mitigate conflict and help all parties manage their interests and expectations. In this chapter, I will outline processes and recommendations for local governments, church organizations, developers, and nearby neighborhoods to begin consensus-driven planning for the transition of these properties.

Co-Founder, Making Housing and Community Happen

Jill Shook is co-founder of Making Housing and Community Happen with her husband Anthony Manousos. After serving as a campus minister, coordinating teams from Berkeley to Harvard to serve in developing countries to do sustainable community development with and by the people Jill moved from Mexico to Pasadena to learn from Dr. John Perkins. She co-founded STARS, an afterschool program, and saw how segregation and the high cost of housing was a root of poverty, and how affordable housing was breaking that cycle. Jill is the author of the book, “Making Housing Happen.”

The Real Estate Advisory Team (co-author)

With dwindling congregations and limited funds to address differed maintenance on underutilized buildings, oversized sanctuaries and parking lots, God is giving power to weary churches by providing a path to renewed well-being by having affordable housing, new neighbors in homes they can afford and new income to continue ministries. Making Housing and Community Happen, The Arroyo Group, Mitchelville Real Estate Group , and LA Voice have teamed up to help over 56 congregations in Southern California create their vision and to become equipped to partner with an affordable housing developer that would fund, build, rent, and maintain the project as well as to bring a fair return for the congregation. This chapter will outline how this works, best practices, and how to create a similar team for your region using case studies, personal stories, and technical expertise.

Social Innovator, Center for Transformative Neighborhoods at Trinity Christian College

Coté Soerens is an ecosystemic designer and social innovator working to foster transformative local ecosystems through place-making and community visioning. She led a number of place-based initiatives aimed at fostering equitable development in South Park, Seattle, such as Resistencia Coffee, the Barrio Building, and Reconnect South Park, an initiative that sought to decommission a highway that cuts South Park in two reclaiming 40 acres of public land for Equitable Development.

Who Wants a Building Anyway?

This chapter examines the role of church buildings in red lined neighborhoods calling attention to the impact that the use or underutilization of these buildings have in these communities. Through case studies in South Park in Seattle, Coté invites us to think about the need for an strategic use of church property that is accountable to the residents of the neighborhoods and that is responsive to the history of the racial covenants that have affected such communities. The chapter examines how place-based ecclesiology and equitable development can be generative frameworks for faith communities and denominations seeking to better utilize their land.

Senior Director of Programs, Partners for Sacred Places

The Rev. Dr. Rochelle A. (Shelly) Stackhouse was ordained in the United Church of Christ in 1982. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, she has served churches of varying sizes as Senior, Solo, Interim and Transitional Pastor in Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. She received a PhD from Drew University in Liturgical Studies and has taught at numerous seminaries, most recently Yale and Lexington. She now serves as Senior Director of Programs for Partners for Sacred Places, a national non-profit working with faith communities as they steward older and historic buildings.

Saving Sacred Places as Community Assets

Approximately 6,000-10,000 churches close in the United States per year - the result of a decades-long trend in declining church attendance and financial assets. Many of these properties will be sold to for-profit developers who, oftentimes, have few incentives to continue to offer the space for community use. This can result in the dislocation of thousands of programs for vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, the food insecure, recovering addicts and recent immigrants, perhaps permanently. This chapter will explore options for congregations to consider so that the civic value of its sacred place can be maintained, keeping it as a place hosting programs serving the community after the space is reconfigured or ownership changes. This might include significant changes to the use of space, sale to a new congregation, sale to a non-profit organization, continued use by the same congregation under new ownership, or one of many other options that congregations can, and should, explore.

Professor of Theology, Trinity Christian College

Keith Starkenburg was born in northwest Iowa and spent most of his youth in Rapid City, South Dakota, on the edge of the Black Hills. He serves as Associate Professor of Theology at Western Theological Seminary and Director of the Vita Scholars Program, an accelerated B.A. / M.Div. program with Hope College. He has published articles and essays on the theology of Karl Barth, the eschatology of creation, as well as the theology and ethics of place. He is currently working on a book that presents a biblical and theological case for land reparations in Turtle Island/North America.

Crossing the Land, Hearing the Spirit

One purpose of this essay is to argue in Christian theological terms that the displacement of Indigenous peoples from their lands by European settlers was not, most fundamentally, the stealing of a valuable commodity. It was and is, more fundamentally, a theft of identity and culture for both the people and the land. This practice is evil because it works against the economy of God’s salvation of creation in Christ. God creates human beings as earthlings who take their identities from the land to which they are given. God creates lands as hosts of human beings who narrate and uncover the significance of the lands given to them. In the cross and resurrection of Christ, God restores and perfects these overlapping relationships for “the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22.2). The second purpose of the essay is to argue that congregations and denominations facing the potential sale of land should, thus, use those moments as opportunities to anticipate and receive the healing of the nations. It is an opportunity to partner with Indigenous tribes in order to receive the gift of the land itself and to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in the land (in accord with Romans 8.22-27). It is a chance to stop treating the land as a commodity but treat the land and Indigenous people of the land as partners and family members.

Real Estate Advisor, Mitchelville Real Estate Group

Andre J. White was born and raised in a Gullah community on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Since late 2003, Andre has worked on over $1 billion of real estate transactions in California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Texas, Colorado and South Carolina for for-profit, non-profit and public entities. He also holds a Master’s Degree from Harvard University with an emphasis in the development and investment of housing and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from South Carolina State University. Mitchelville Real Estate Group (MREG) was formed in May 2019 in response to the housing crisis across California and a belief that new solutions, approaches and voices are needed to increase the housing supply for vulnerable populations.

The Real Estate Advisory Team (co-author)

With dwindling congregations and limited funds to address differed maintenance on underutilized buildings, oversized sanctuaries and parking lots, God is giving power to weary churches by providing a path to renewed well-being by having affordable housing, new neighbors in homes they can afford and new income to continue ministries. Making Housing and Community Happen, The Arroyo Group, Mitchelville Real Estate Group , and LA Voice have teamed up to help over 56 congregations in Southern California create their vision and to become equipped to partner with an affordable housing developer that would fund, build, rent, and maintain the project as well as to bring a fair return for the congregation. This chapter will outline how this works, best practices, and how to create a similar team for your region using case studies, personal stories, and technical expertise.