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July 18th, 2024  |  by

Every June part of our Help Build Hope staff journeys to the pacific northwest to do a series of builds at churches across Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Through partnerships with local churches and Habitat for Humanity, ## homes were framed this year that will stay in the region. One of those builds was through a new partnership between Faith Church in Sammamish, WA and Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County. 

Volunteers at Faith Church with a completed panel
The Church

Lead Pastor of Faith Church, Ric Schewell has been participating in Help Build Hope events for twelve years, forming lasting partnerships with every church he has been part of. “Help Build Hope is a partnership between CrossRoads, the church, and Habitat where everybody does what they do best,” praised Ric. “The church rallies people and raises funds, Help Build Hope leads the build, and Habitat completes the house. It is such a home run project because it is rare to have a church program that hits all the points in one – evangelism, worship, missions, community, service, outreach, and many more.”

Ric recalled one of his favorite Help Build Hope memories from when he was living in Portland, “In summer 2020 our church in Portland Christ UMC had stopped having in person-services, but felt comfortable being outdoors. So we planned a Help Build Hope event. It was the first time our church had seen each other for months.” He went on to describe how everyone was so excited to see each other and to be serving the community. “We are still the church, we can still make an impact during this hard time. Habitat had to stop taking volunteers during that time, so without Help Build Hope no houses would have been built that year.” 

This year in Sammamish, Ric saw a new way that Help Build Hope brings the community together. As the second annual build, the congregation was very excited to serve again, and wanted to invite more people. When a church member told their local Cub Scout troop, the kids and leaders were thrilled to find a service opportunity open to elementary aged kids. After word got to other local troops, 50 scouts came to participate in the build. “It was a great opportunity for the church to connect with the group,” continued Ric. This simple act of invitation to serve brought many new people to a church they might not otherwise have visited. 

Completed walls piled up ready to be transported to their forever home!
Habitat for Humanity

This year there was a last minute change and our team got to work with a new Habitat affiliate, Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County. The Director of Construction, Jake Carter, had never worked with Help Build Hope before. After explaining the ministry and how the build day goes, Jake didn’t know how 200 people would be able to build walls well in one morning. “When I heard it was going to be that many people I was concerned honestly, how was it going to be efficient?” Jake continued, “With the vinyl on the top & bottom plates, the instruction sheets for each wall, and everything pre-cut – It made it very easy for everyone to pick up. We were blown away at how efficient and organized the entire build was.”

The two homes built at Faith Church will go to a community they have been building over the last ten years in Port Orchard. When the community is complete there will be 32 homes. There are only 5 lots left, and the Help Build Hope walls will be stood in two of those lots this fall. The homeowner application process is going on now, and more volunteers are needed to finish the homes.

  Kitsap County Habitat is a small organization outside of Seattle. Over the past 30 years they have built 105 homes, and Jake is hoping to grow their capacity. “I’ve just been here a few months and I’m trying to increase our output,” explained Jake. “Housing affordability has been an issue in our area for many years. Help Build Hope is a catalyst for us to grow how many homes we can complete in a year. It will make a big impact in our work and allow us to expand our impact in the community.”

Kitsap County Habitat is excited to continue partnering with Help Build Hope, “This build was one of the most rewarding days I’ve had in non-profit work so far. It was so inspiring to see so many people working together – you don’t have an event that big very often.”

Drone view of the build in Faith Church’s parking lot

Are you interested in hosting a Help Build Hope at your church or organization? Reach out to andy@crossroadsmissions.com for more information. 

 

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