“This Is Radical Common Sense”: A Maryland County, a Bank and a Housing Nonprofit Back Churches Building Homes

• Enterprise Community Partners, Montgomery County and Truist launched a faith-based development initiative in May 2024
• Up to seven houses of worship will get training, technical help and funding
• Funding totals $585,000: $385,000 from the county and $200,000 from Truist
• The goal is 750 affordable homes

In May 2024, at Mount Jezreel Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, a housing nonprofit, a county government and a bank announced a joint effort to help congregations build homes. The Enterprise Faith-Based Development Initiative in Montgomery County would support up to seven houses of worship in turning vacant property into affordable housing.

The money came from two sources: $385,000 from Montgomery County and $200,000 from Truist’s charitable fund, for a total of $585,000. Over two years, the selected congregations would receive specialised training, technical assistance and funding, with the aim of creating 750 affordable homes.

The Rev David Bowers, vice-president of Enterprise’s Mid-Atlantic market, said the logic was simple. “This is radical common sense. When you have mission-aligned institutions with so much underutilized land in just about every community, our faith-based development initiative is really connecting opportunity with need,” he said.

County Executive Marc Elrich praised the faith community’s record of stepping up for neighbours through food distributions, medical services and help for newcomers. Bernita Bailey, Truist’s market president for suburban Maryland, said the bank’s support helped it “live our purpose” by helping faith-based organisations convert land into affordable housing.

The initiative followed the county’s approval, a month earlier, of a zoning amendment making it easier to build affordable homes on land owned by faith groups. The model is small and practical: a handful of congregations, a modest budget and experienced guides. That is a scale Jamaica could manage. A pilot involving a housing agency, a bank or credit union and a church umbrella body could select a few congregations with titled, well-located land and walk them through feasibility, design and financing. For Jamaican bankers and housing professionals in the diaspora, it is a template worth bringing home.