Building partnerships, building community, building relationships, and building affordable homes – these are the pillars of CrossRoads Missions’ Help Build Hope ministry. At Help Build Hope, we believe in making a lasting impact on families in need by providing affordable housing solutions, and we do this through collaborative events that foster teamwork and social responsibility.
Addressing the Urgent Need for Affordable Housing
The need for affordable housing in the United States is more critical than ever. As of 2020, over 50 million people live in poverty, and more than 13 million spend over half of their income on housing. With 1 in 4 housing markets deemed unaffordable by historical standards, millions endure living conditions with issues ranging from a leaky roof to inadequate plumbing. Help Build Hope is here to make a difference.
Our Unique Approach
Help Build Hope brings each construction project directly to your parking lot. During this incredible, one-day event volunteers from your church, school, organization, or event partner with our experienced team to frame the walls for a brand-new home. The entire home is built using hammers and nails and can be completed in under 4 hours! Once completed, the home is then donated to one of our partnering organizations who then transports the walls to a predetermined location where they will oversee the completion of the project. To date, Help Build Hope has constructed over 1500 homes in parking lots from Washington to Florida and from Pennsylvania to Texas. Each one of those homes has been donated to individuals and families in need around the country through partnering organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Isaiah 117 House, and many more.
Stories of Impactful Partnerships
The impact of a single Help Build Hope event often grows well beyond helping one individual or family to a lasting partnership that eventually impacts the entire community.
The Events are frequently the initial introduction for churches to home construction as a ministry. By serving as the connecting bridge between the church and local housing ministries such as Habitat for Humanity, these events often help to build lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships resulting in greater community impact and increased volunteer participation. A great example of this is the partnership between Bethel Hill United Methodist Church in Hatfield, PA, and Berks County Habitat for Humanity in Reading, PA.
Bethel Hill hosted its first Help Build Hope event in 2021 as a way to provide their congregation an opportunity to serve in missions without leaving home during the pandemic. They loved the event so much that they have hosted an event every year since. “The experience is uplifting, as God watches over the build,” said Ed Gale, who is the UM Men’s president for both Bethel Hill and the Eastern PA Conference. “You do not need to have building experience. If you can swing a hammer, you’re able to help.”
In 2023 Bethel Hill decided to go even bigger. Help Build Hope had been in contact with the Berks County Habitat for Humanity, which was starting a duplex project in Reading, Pennsylvania. When Bethel heard about the project, they decided to build the walls for both sides of the duplex! “Framing the walls for a two-story duplex, was a massive undertaking,” explained Rev. Sue Ketterer, Bethel Hill’s pastor. “The Friday night lumber-cutting crew was able to get a head start by putting together nine walls. The remaining 120 walls were completed on Saturday by about 2:00 p.m. The building we erected was a testament to all the hard work and donations.”
After building the walls, members of the Bethel Hill congregation continued to follow the duplex project, even volunteering with the Berks County Habitat for Humanity to put siding on the building’s exterior. “These gentlemen,” praises Habitat in a facebook post, “along with the rest of the congregation at Bethel Hill, have blessed our organization with their time, their support, and their dedication to Habitat for Humanity of Berks County. For that, we are forever grateful!”
A story about this event was published in a newsletter to the Eastern PA UMC Conference. After reading that story, two other churches, West Lawn United Methodist, located in Reading, PA, and ValleyPoint Church in Glen Mills, PA scheduled their own Help Build Hope events during which each built half of the walls for a second duplex. To cap it all off, Bethel Hill UMC will build another complete duplex in 2024. “All told, six families will have housing through the generosity of our Help Build Hope partners!” shares Andy Cole, Director of Communications for Help Build Hope. But the impact doesn’t end there. As a result of this partnership, the Berks County Habitat has made plans to build a total of 11 duplexes in this neighborhood!
As He so often does, God took Bethel Hill’s willingness to serve and multiplied their gift. The result has been a life change for not one family, but 6 families so far! The first of whom received the keys to their new home in August of 2023. “I wanted something that was mine,” explained home recipient Mariam Matias in a local news interview. “Stability, security. And I said I have to do something. Because I can’t wake up one day and not have a home.”
Today, just two short years later, the ripple effect of Bethel Hill’s decision to host a Help Build Hope extends well beyond their community to other parts of the country. The joy that members of the congregation experienced during these Help Build Hope events has led many of them to serve with CrossRoads Missions in other fields of ministry including Appalachia and Western Kentucky.
Please contact Andy Cole at andy@crossroadsmissions.com or visit our website to learn how your Church or Organization can host a Help Build Hope event.
