Our Story

Since The District Church opened its doors in 2010, it has existed to meet the needs of its community—“seek the welfare of the city.” In the context of the District of Columbia, few needs are more apparent or deeply felt than lack of adequate affordable housing. So, it has been on the heart of The District Church, since its origin, to directly address affordable housing gaps in the city. The question was always how.

In Isaiah 65 the prophet shares a God-given vision for a new heaven, new earth, and new city, where wrongs will be made right and “the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard no more.”

Speaking through Isaiah, God paints a picture of a city in which people “will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them.” God goes on to promise fulfilment for all people: “For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.”

In Washington, D.C. the very people who are building houses cannot afford to live in them. Those who are cooking and serving in restaurants do not have the resources to eat in them. Those who are laboring in this city are unable to enjoy its fruits.

Moreover, our church meets in Columbia Heights, with temporary offices in Shaw, two of the neighborhoods frequently cited in discussions about neighborhood change and the challenges of affordable housing preservation. 

Reflecting upon these disparities and realities, The District Church asked itself: What would it look like to see justice lived out in the housing space in our city? What unique role are we called to play?

In late 2016, a group of volunteers from the church community experience and interest in affordable housing began meeting to discern what a housing ministry might look like. Over the course of a year, this working group prayed, researched, brainstormed, and planned what the church’s role might be in meeting the housing needs of the city. We interviewed dozens of organizations and individuals across the District in pursuit of identifying the community’s needs and the ways in which the church’s resources could be utilized to meet the needs.

Throughout these months we constantly asked ourselves: how can the local church step up to fill existing service gaps in the city?

Through a long process of brainstorming, refining, amending, and reworking several ideas, a vision for seeking justice in the housing space in D.C. was born. Along with this vision came a plan for how the District Church could do its part to make this vision a reality.

In November of 2017, during a sermon series discussing TDC’s core values—worship, community, and justice—Pastor Aaron Graham formally introduced Just Homes to the wider District Church community.