We help church leaders who seek flourishing within their neighborhood by designing and implementing housing solutions.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The church is called to be a foretaste of the already-but-not-yet Kingdom and to create a garden-like world. We are also called to care for our neighbors and congregants in tangible ways. We believe that thoughtfully designed housing is one of the best ways churches can seek flourishing within their neighborhood.
THE CHALLENGE
Church participation has been declining in the United States over the past five decades. Hundreds of churches close every month. Churches must move beyond the 20th Century church design formula—which focused on the church building and easily accessible parking—in favor of a church that cares for the needs of its neighbors and seeks to embed itself in a community; directly addressing some of the factors that are contributing to decreases in church participation.
Churches often occupy key real estate within our neighborhoods, but too often churches are not leveraging their spaces for the good of the community.
Church leaders often feel overwhelmed and uncertain about how to get started, what is feasible, and are worried about finding a trustworthy partner to help them think through what’s possible.
We work with churches of all sizes that want to seek the good of their community. These churches want to be a tangible sign of hope in their community. These churches want to have a positive impact in their community that will last generations. These churches believe that beauty matters, and that as the church we are called to create a garden-like world and be a foretaste of the coming Kingdom—heaven on earth.
Parish Housing Project can help your church create a vision for your property. We understand the challenges and complexity, we will come alongside your church and offer vision and insight to help your church take the next step to transform your space to better serve your community. We help create and clarify your vision and build a realistic plan to bring that vision to fruition.
Our services
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Assessment
We conduct a thorough evaluation of the church’s property, needs, and goals. We will examine your local municipal zoning, neighborhood context, and discuss your congregations financial position.
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Visioning
We come on-site to work with a small group of leaders from your church and community to create and clarify a vision for your site design solutions tailored to the church’s vision and community needs.
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Consultation
We provide expert advice on real estate development, including design, construction, structuring, and finances. We will act as your project manager and trusted advisor, helping you work through challenges such as outdated zoning ordinances, building codes, and property-tax regulations.
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Implementation
We can work alongside your leadership team to oversee the execution of the project to ensure it aligns with the church’s mission and achieves desired outcomes.
Contact Parish Housing Project to Get Started
N.T. Wright
“What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether. They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.”
Jeremiah 29:7
“Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
Meet the Team
Bo grew up in a small town in North Georgia. He has always had a passion for thriving communities and building places that people can enjoy. Bo studied new testament theology in college and has worked ina variety of church contexts. Bo was the Director for Strong Towns, a media organization that analyzes the failures of the post-war North American development pattern while giving citizens the knowledge and tools to start making their places better today. At Strong Towns, he worked with municipal leaders, institutions, neighborhood groups, and visionary real estate developers to help them understand the challenges their communities face and create a bottom-up plan to rebuild community prosperity.
Bo also served as the Executive Director of a mainstreet organization and economic development agency that helped to revitalize the town through events, intentional placemaking, and ongoing programs.
Today, Bo wears many hats: he is developing several small scale real estate projects, he is a General Contractor on smaller real estate projects, and a consultant for mission-driven real estate projects.
Bo Wright
Thomas grew up on a small farm along the Ohio River. He grew up building barns and other farm infrastructure and worked with his brothers as residential contractors throughout high school and college. While studying abroad in Austria in 2010, Thomas became fascinated by the urban spaces of traditional towns and cities. Chasing this fascination of traditional construction, he worked as a timber framer until 2015, when he began studying architecture and urban design at Notre Dame. In 2018, he received a Master of Architecture, and in 2019, a Master of Architectural Design and Urbanism from the University of Notre Dame.
Thomas is an Architectural and UX Urban Designer revolutionizing infill development by uncovering the forgotten space of the innerblock. He is the author of The American Alley: A Hidden Resource. And has written extensively about the hofje and godshuizen found in many Dutch and Belgian cities. His designs of urban spaces have won several awards and attracted the attention of some of the best urban developers across the country
