Housing and the Mission of the Church
The Church Housing Foundation wants to work with anyone who shares our vision and values, regardless of faith.
That vision and values is based on a Christian theological understanding of housing. An important task for us is to help Christians and churches see how meeting housing need is integral to our faith, and respond accordingly.
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he put loving our neighbour on a par with loving God. This set the Church on a trajectory to support and care for people who are marginalised, lonely, sick or impoverished. Since poor housing directly impacts people’s health and wellbeing, Christians have sought to improve housing conditions down through history.
Housing and the Greatest Commandment
Good Housing
Christians have inherited a vision of living in relationship with God and each other in a state of ‘Shalom’. Shalom is an incredible and rich Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, togetherness, prosperity, welfare and tranquillity. Houses are built of ‘stuff’ but homes are much more than that. Our home can connect or disconnect us, heal or hurt, induce fearfulness or contentment. Good houses are not the totality of human flourishing, but they are a necessary foundation.
The ‘Coming Home’ report from the Archbishops Commission on Housing, Church & Community made a case for values that define what good housing looks like. Taking five key ‘moments’ from the Bible (Creation, Fall, Redemption, New Community and New Creation), the report outlines a broad description of good housing summarised in the 5 values.
We want to meet housing need for the poorest and most marginalised - obeying the Greatest Commandment - but building more houses is not the full answer (although it is part of it) The 5 values gives us a way of approaching how we fully meet that need.
The Mission of the Church of England
Many Churches are of course working with the poorest and most marginalised in lots of different ways - for example providing shelter for the homeless, warm spaces or food. Meeting housing need in a community does not replace those important activities, but it can make them more effective over the long term. If homelessness is to be made a rarity then housing needs to be stable and affordable. If homelessness is to be brief and its impact limited, people need safe and suitable housing that will help restore them. If people cannot afford to buy food, a big part of the reason may be the cost of housing - or the price of keeping it warm and safe.
This is why meeting housing need is so integral to our mission and ministry, and while it is not something new, there are new opportunities to make a difference.
Our Response
Each place and circumstance will be different, but there are some common themes. First and foremost, meeting housing need is not a solitary activity. Talking about why housing matters with other Christians and encouraging them to act is a great start.
If you’d like to learn more about the theology behind this, here are some resources: