Mission Waco has taken the first steps to create a transformational community for previously unhoused people, and the organization is inviting area churches to be part of the transformation.
“Housing alone will not end homelessness, but community will,” said John Calaway, president and executive director of Mission Waco.
With that principle in mind, Mission Waco broke ground Oct. 8 for Creekside Community Village, a development of micro-homes and other affordable housing options.
When the community reaches full capacity, it will offer more than 300 formerly unhoused people an opportunity to find permanent housing in an encouraging environment.
Residents—who are required to have lived in McLennan County at least one year and to pay rent for their homes—will be provided opportunities to earn income and will have access to “wrap-around services” and public transportation.
Micro-homes, which do not have plumbing but are accessible to individualized central bathroom facilities, cost about $25,000. Other home styles—including the “park model” which is fully plumbed and capable of housing a family—are more expensive, but all are less than $50,000.
‘On holy ground’
Before he offered the prayer of dedication at the groundbreaking ceremony, Pastor John Durham of Highland Baptist Church in Waco told the crowd: “I’m not going to ask you to take your shoes off. But we are on holy ground. … This is sacred space.”
When Jimmy Dorrell, co-founder and president emeritus of Mission Waco, invited area churches to sponsor individual homes, Highland Baptist was among the first, committing funds for three houses.
“God has called us to be part of this effort to care for the poor and the marginalized,” Durham said in an interview. “We see this as an act of biblical obedience.”
First Woodway Baptist Church also committed to provide funds for Creekside Community Village, as did the congregation where Dorrell is pastor—Church Under the Bridge, which includes a significant number of people who live on the streets of Waco.
“We are excited for the impact this project will have on many of our own congregation in the months and years ahead,” Dorrell said.
Other Waco congregations that made significant early financial commitments include Mosaic Church and Antioch Community Church, as well as Austin Christian Fellowship.
Based on conversations with congregational leaders, Dorrell expects at least another five churches to commit funds to the project soon.
In addition to major contributions from several families, individuals and businesses, Christian Mission Concerns and the Christ Is Our Salvation Foundation also provided grants.
‘It’s not just a home. It’s a community.’
Modeled in part after Community First! Village in Austin, launched by Alan Graham’s Mobile Loaves & Fishes ministry, Creekside Community Village will serve the chronically unsheltered who are living in the streets, in a shelter or in low-budget motels.
In June, Mission Waco secured 68 acres for Creekside Community Village less than two miles southeast of the Baylor University campus with the support of the City of Waco and the Don Behringer family.
“We arrive at this point after three years of praying, planning, plotting and maybe a little panicking,” Megan Snipes, chair of the Mission Waco board, said at the groundbreaking ceremony.
“We want to offer permanent supportive housing with lifegiving community engagement. It’s not just a house. It’s not just a home. It’s a community.”
When it is fully developed, Creekside Community Village will include parks and green space, health care services, a general store, community kitchens, individual centralized bathrooms and a community garden.
In addition to homes for the previously unhoused, 20 percent of the homes will be reserved for “missional residents” who are not formerly homeless but choose to live in community with those who are.
Billy Davis of Waco, chair of the fund-raising leadership team, said Phase One of the project—which will provide housing for 40 individuals—should be completed in less than a year.
The $12 million first phase included the initial land purchase and it includes $6 million to develop infrastructure for the community. About 80 percent of the infrastructure costs already have been raised, he noted.
The development will benefit Waco and McLennan County as a whole, he noted.
“It will be an asset to our community,” Davis said. “It will be transformational for its residents.”
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