■ What drives you to do this work ?
LISA : The simple answer is the Gospel . The need is so glaring now — you can ’ t ignore it . It ’ s in the air .
DAVID : I had a sense of calling . I was working on affordable housing with the pastor who raised me in ministry . I kept making connection points where God put me in place to see and observe the ministry around development . The way I got to Enterprise was no accident . Housing security is our mission . There is so much need in this country and there is so much land stewarded by houses of worship . It ’ s radical common sense to put those pieces together .
SHELLY : I was a pastor of a congregation that entered into a merger with another church , and I left so that it could be completed . After I left , the merger failed , and then the congregation decided to move . They sold the building for market rate apartments in an area of New Haven that desperately needed other types of housing . I then encountered Partners and found out there were people who had better ideas about how to transition sacred places . Now I work to help other communities of faith determine what to do .
MARK : What keeps me up at night and shapes my work is this : Twenty years from now , when we look around our neighborhoods and realize that a third or more of our church properties are no longer churches , what will we have lost ? Or gained ? What will the impact be on the social fabric of our communities ? And what will each of us have done to encourage good when churches are gone ?
■ How are you seeing congregations and their leaders deal with fear and grief in the transitioning process ?
SHELLY : My home church in Bethlehem is closing , and they are selling their church for market rate housing . I believe they are being taken advantage of in this sale . When people are tired and sad , it ’ s difficult to make good decisions .
DAVID : I ’ ve seen examples where fear and grief have led to inaction because folks are afraid of doing something wrong . Or people make bad , quick decisions . They are not as thoughtful as they could be .
LISA : Sometimes the articulated fear and grief can be a cover for what is not expressed : a church member might say they can ’ t commit to affordable housing for the next 20 years . But the real fear is that they don ’ t want to have poor people on their campus .
MARK : I ’ ve been seeing a version of this that is exhaustion . People start talking about doing housing and they say , we can ’ t sign leases when we ’ re 80 years old . We can ’ t clear snow . And as much as we tell them they don ’ t need to do that , they don ’ t hear it . There isn ’ t the energy to do things differently . Doing something creative with buildings and land takes a lot longer and takes more work . Many congregations used up all the reserves they had to stay open the last five years .
SHELLY : COVID has exacerbated that .
MARK : It forced people to do something different , but it exhausted that muscle . Trying to do worship masked , not masked , online , in person .
LISA : I ’ m getting tired just listening to it ! SHELLY : The weariness is real .
■ Are most of the congregations you work with those that are aging and dying , or are some young and vital and just want to do something creative ?
SHELLY : We ’ ve worked with some that want to do something creative . One church in New England is working with the town to become a satellite location for meetings and events , since they are across the street from a small , historic town hall . Others we have worked with have become arts centers .
DAVID : It ’ s been a mix . About half of our congregations have seen decline : 20-35 % are fairly stable to thriving .
MARK : Probably the majority that are looking at development have some sort of financial need . Sometimes churches are not large but vibrant , and land-rich but dollar-poor . They explore these options . Rarely do I see a wealthy , vibrant church saying they want to develop something .
■ Can you share an example of a congregation that has really transitioned well ?
SHELLY : When we work with congregations we encourage them to create a property mission statement , regardless of whether or not they will continue to own the property . We frame it as , how can you set
16 SACRED PLACES • FALL / WINTER 2023 – 24