When Clark Rinehart was a local church pastor, he realized two things.
One: Churches own a lot of real estate. Two: Past Wednesday night and Sunday programming, a lot of that space went largely unused.
"We have been facing a nationwide housing shortage for about two decades now that's become more and more acute," he said. "I saw an opportunity with my engineering background (and) my experience with the local church to bring that unique position together and help churches really think about stewarding their assets in the future."
In 2021, Rinehart started the Steeple Collective, a design-strategy and consulting nonprofit that helps urban churches creatively use their space. And he isn't alone in seeing the potential.
A growing housing gap
Nationwide, faith congregations are exploring ways to offer affordable housing on their property. The movement calls itself "Yes in God's Backyard," or YIGBY.
YIGBY is a spin on the Not in My Backyard (NIMBY), a term for community members who oppose new developments, especially mixed-income or affordable housing in their area. On the other side of NIMBYism sits the pro-housing YIMBY, or Yes in My Backyard, advocates.
The Triangle is no stranger to NIMBYs, YIGBYS or conversations surrounding affordable housing. Since 2020, unsheltered homelessness has more than doubled in Wake County alone, according to a Wake County survey. With no place to call home, more people are experiencing "homelessness in plain sight," according to the county, prompting a growing concern.
With a predicted household growth rate of 5% from 2024 to 2029, North Carolina faces a five-year housing inventory gap of 764,478 units, according to an analysis performed by Bowen National Research.
By 2029, Wake County is expected to have a total housing gap of 110,689 units – the second largest gap by county in the state behind Mecklenburg County.
While state initiatives, like Wake County's Continuum of Care, partner with nonprofits to end homelessness, faith communities in the Triangle are also stepping in.
Rinehart, who is also running for Raleigh City Council, says the movement isn't about proselytizing; it's about activating church assets creatively. That's why he said he works mostly as a volunteer and advocate, rarely charging people for his services.
"I believe that we need every partner at the table in order to curb this housing crisis," he said.
YIGBY in the Triangle
Raleigh's Edenton Street United Methodist Church is exploring options for its downtown parking lot, including potential mixed-income housing. Just down the road, Milner Memorial Presbyterian Church turned into affordable housing for older adults after services ended in 2019.
Last year, Cary's Greenwood Forest Baptist Church received zoning approval for an affordable housing development on its property. The mixed-use development, called The Timothy Ash Carr Center, will address community needs through affordable housing, childcare, and community gathering space.
Senior Pastor Rev. Lauren Hayes said how people interface with church is changing. In 2019, faced with an incomplete building campaign and a smaller congregation, Hayes said church staff began to have internal meetings about what to do with their "gift of space."
"We've been sitting on a piece of property that is too large for our congregation," she said. "Church buildings are not used 24/7, and we really wanted to make sure that we were using the building to its best potential."
After assessing community needs and the feasibility of the project, church staff pitched the project to their congregation before solidifying a partnership with affordable housing developer DHIC. The project now has a projected finish date of 2028, with demolition beginning in the first quarter of 2027.
Greenwood is tearing down half of their building, their preschool building and an old sanctuary space. In that space, DHIC will build a four-story building containing 51 units of affordable housing. The bottom floor will have a full-day childcare center in partnership with the YMCA.
Housing support nonprofit The Carying Place will also have offices in The Carr Center, along with 11 two-bedroom apartments for unhoused working families. Adjacent to the property, the town of Cary has also purchased land to build affordable townhomes, so people have an opportunity for actual home ownership.
Loss and legacy
The Carr Center is named after Timothy Ash Carr, a member of the church heavily involved in the Center’s development. The church sainted him after he unexpectedly passed away in 2024. Carr and his story have encouraged Hayes throughout the project.
"I always hear him because he would say God has called us to do this, and even when we don't know what the next step is, it's going to happen one way or another," she said.
Legacy is an important part of the YIGBY conversation. Both Rinehart and Hayes said they think the movement will continue growing in different ways as churches assess community needs.
But first, Rinehart said, many congregations need to have hard conversations about their future, though he thinks many are reluctant to do so.
"They're very hopeful people, and I think that's a beautiful thing, to be hopeful that you know the divine God might show up and change the trajectory," he said. "We've been losing numbers for years. We've been getting older."
Not every church has the opportunity for a mixed-use facility or new development, Rinehart said. But churches could meet other needs too, he said, from transportation to small business incubation.
Outside of serving their communities, conversations surrounding the use of church buildings are also becoming a necessity for the organizations themselves, Hayes said.
"As the greatest generation dies and the baby boomers die, and their wealth dies with them, newer generations don't have enough money to sustain large church buildings either," she said.
The book "Gone for Good?" by editor Mark Elsdon sticks out for Hayes. It’s about the coming wave of church property transitions. In a presentation about the Timothy Ash Carr Center, she cited the following quote from the book:
"After the wave (of decline) has receded, will church property have further contributed to injustice and the widening of the gap between rich and poor?" Elsdon writes.
"Or will we have put our creativity and energy into new uses that leave communities more connected, more just and with new programs and support that bring light and life into people’s lives?"
