40 Congregations, $2.1 Million in Support: A National Housing Group Maps How Churches Become Developers

• LISC released a report on faith-based affordable housing
• It has guided 40 faith groups in the Bay Area since 2019 with $2.1 million in support
• Mt Olive Missionary Baptist near Buffalo is developing a community campus
• LISC says congregations need specialist help with funding and deal structure

Churches that want to build homes usually find that goodwill and land are not enough. In February 2026, Baptist News Global reported on a new study from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), titled “Yes In God’s Back Yard: How Faith-Based Organizations are Reshaping the Affordable Housing Market”, which sets out what congregations need to succeed.

Valerie White, who leads LISC’s national housing strategic initiatives, said congregations are well placed to help. “Mission-driven organizations are uniquely situated to have a positive effect in this area because they are deeply rooted in communities and often are already using their networks to help address serious local needs,” she said.

The report stresses that expertise matters. “Developing affordable housing requires specialized knowledge and relationships to successfully navigate project management, funding, deal structuring, and more,” it says. In the San Francisco Bay Area, LISC has guided 40 faith-based organisations since 2019 and provided $2.1 million in direct support. Near Buffalo, New York, Mt Olive Missionary Baptist Church is developing the Lackawanna Life Center Campus with LISC’s help. “We are in desperate need. This community has been in the backside for a long time of not having these services,” said Pastor Keith Mobley.

The report notes that the arrangement can help churches too, since many face falling attendance and ageing buildings without the money to maintain them. White urged faith leaders to look at their unused buildings and land, saying: “We are in a time in our country when the need for affordable housing, regardless of region or the type of community, is immense.”

Jamaica has no single body offering churches this kind of step-by-step help with housing development. The LISC approach, pairing congregations with specialists in finance, design and project management, is one the island’s housing agencies, credit unions and diaspora professional networks could learn from. Jamaican architects, quantity surveyors and bankers abroad who want to give back could offer exactly the expertise that stops a church’s housing dream from stalling.

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