$1 Million to Help Texas Churches Build 800 Homes: A Faith-Based Housing Programme Heads South

• Enterprise’s Faith-Based Development Initiative expanded to Houston, San Antonio and Dallas
• The T.D. Jakes Foundation and Wells Fargo provided a $1 million grant
• The goal is about 800 affordable homes on congregation-owned land
• The programme has created or preserved more than 1,600 homes since it began in the Mid-Atlantic

A national programme that helps churches turn spare land into homes has come to Texas. Enterprise Community Partners announced in July 2024 that its Faith-Based Development Initiative would expand to Houston, San Antonio and Dallas, with the aim of creating 800 affordable homes.

The expansion was backed by a $1 million grant from the T.D. Jakes Foundation and Wells Fargo. Congregations taking part receive grants and capital for market studies and pre-development work, training on the development process, one-on-one technical assistance, introductions to architects, accountants, lawyers and developers, and peer support through regional cohorts and national summits.

The initiative began in the Mid-Atlantic, where it has created or preserved more than 1,600 affordable homes, with a further 27,000 in its projected pipeline. “Across the country, houses of worship own tens of thousands of acres of vacant or underutilized land,” said David Bowers, Enterprise vice-president and senior adviser to the initiative.

Michelle Whetten, vice-president for Enterprise’s Gulf Coast market, noted the organisation’s record in the state: “Since 2009, Enterprise has invested over $2.3 billion to create and preserve nearly 80,000 homes in Texas.” Stacy Spann of Wells Fargo said: “As community anchors, houses of worship are at the center of so many lives.” Kelley Cornish, president and chief executive of the T.D. Jakes Foundation, said: “This investment empowers faith-based organizations to repurpose underutilized land into affordable homes.”

The programme addresses the main barrier most congregations face: not land, but know-how and early-stage money. Market studies, legal advice and design work must be paid for before a project can attract full financing, and many churches cannot risk their own funds.

Houston and Dallas both have Caribbean communities, and diaspora congregations there could benefit from exactly this kind of help. In Jamaica, a comparable fund for feasibility studies, legal work and training, backed by banks, foundations or diaspora investors, could help churches judge whether a housing project on their land is viable before committing members’ money.

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