A small congregation making a big impact in Battle Creek, Michigan
A small congregation making a big impact in Battle Creek, Michigan
An interview with Pastor Monique French
I recently spoke about Just Action in Battle Creek, Michigan. The event took place at the Washington Heights United Methodist Church and Community (WHUMCC), in a predominantly African American neighborhood that has long suffered from disinvestment and blight. Led by Pastor Monique French, WHUMCC is a small congregation of 30 active members that is up to big things. Its associated nonprofit organization spearheads community revitalization and housing development efforts that, in a few short years, have brought resources and renewed vibrancy to the Washington Heights community.
Many neighborhoods like Washington Heights have long-standing churches with diminishing memberships but with access to valuable assets – they often own under-utilized buildings or land, have the trust of residents, are connected to local philanthropic organizations and government agencies, and most importantly, are driven by the mission to serve the surrounding community. This can all be employed to drive place-based investments that remedy the policies and practices that deprived these areas of resources.
Some state and local governments understand this opportunity and have implemented policies to help faith-based institutions develop housing. Called YIGBY (Yes in God’s Backyard), these efforts include a California law to streamline approvals for affordable housing developments on church-owned land and programs in Atlanta and San Antonio that offer technical assistance to religious institutions interested in building housing.1
After returning from Battle Creek, I followed up with Pastor French to learn more about what her congregation has accomplished. What follows is our conversation, edited for brevity and clarity.
LR: How did WHUMCC get into doing community development work?
MF: We look at doing ministry from a holistic approach - we saw issues that existed in this community so we took up the mantle and started working on them.
One thing that we noticed was the blight that was plaguing this community. So we were very intentional about upgrading some of its amenities: we built an outdoor walking track, we installed an outdoor fitness area, and we did an upgrade at the park. We tried to do things that would bring beauty to this area because we wanted people to see that there is hope, because this was a hope-fatigued community. That sparked us to get into housing development. We’re now looking to build seventeen new houses and we've been working towards securing funding for that. We just want to bring hope to this community and start investing back into this area.
LR: Are you a housing developer now, in addition to a pastor?
MF: Yes, an “emerging developer.” I've been learning a lot on this journey!
We were first able to purchase three existing homes and we renovated those homes ourselves. And then we purchased a four-unit apartment building that we also did some renovations on and are renting out. We also received funding from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) to do upgrades and energy efficient repairs to existing homes in the community. We are going to help about 66 homes, predominantly in the Washington Heights area.
We've really been working hard to provide life, you know, bring back the vibrancy to this community.
LR: Can you tell me more about the neighborhood amenities you’ve built, like the park? Is that on church-owned property?
MF: It is, but it's open to the public. With the park area, we upgraded the slides, blacktopped the basketball courts and brought the hoops into regulatory heights, we added an outdoor fitness area where people can get physically fit, added an outdoor walking track, and we did some landscaping to make it a beautiful park. So, we raised funds to put those amenities out there.
LR: How do you decide where to focus your efforts?
MF: A lot of what we do is because of input from the community. We host a lot of conversations. We developed a community needs assessment for residents to give us input - do they feel safe in the area and what improvements would they like to see? In one community needs assessments, for example, they said they’d like to have an outdoor walking track.
LR: How long have you been the pastor of WHUMCC? Has the congregation always been this involved with community development and engagement?
MF: I've only been here for four years, but the church has a rich history in this community. When I came here, it was the height of the pandemic and so we addressed the food insecurities that people had. And we just got very active.
LR: Let’s go back to the role the church plays as a housing developer. With such a small congregation, I imagine you don’t have the resources on your own to build these homes. How are you pulling this off?
MF: The initial funding we received was from business owners in the community, American Rescue Plan Act funding, and some grant funding. That’s how we were able to purchase the land, do some of the pre-development work, as well as purchase the houses that we own. We purchased land from the city of Battle Creek, and then we had it surveyed to divide it into twelve single-family home lots. The additional five homes will be built on lots we will purchase from the Calhoun County Landbank.
So far, we received funding to build the first house from the WK Kellogg Foundation. And we’ve had the groundbreaking for that home. And then I believe we'll receive some additional funding from MSHDA to do another two houses. And then as we sell the houses, we’re going to reinvest in this process.
LR: Are there affordability requirements on the homes you are building?
MF: We want to make the houses attainable but we want to also offer mixed-income housing. We are really trying to increase homeownership and make it affordable, so only three of the homes will be for rent (we want to provide them with the option to buy). Five will be sold to low-income families making up to 60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), and nine will be sold to middle-income families making up to 120 percent of AMI. We want to provide a variety, because we know that providing only low-income housing would not create economic stimulation.
LR: What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced in getting into housing development?
MF: I like the term “opportunity hoarding.”2 I would say that has been a big challenge - not having the opportunities to access some of the resources out there. It’s like being invited to the party, but not being asked to dance. There are roadblocks to overcoming some of those obstacles and it doesn't help being a woman in this position, and I will say, a black woman in this position. It seems to me that I have to fight ten times as hard as someone else for resources. But we have to. I mean, we've done so much with so little.
LR: What do you have your sights set on after building these seventeen houses?
MF: What we are trying to do is to see the impact it will have on this concentrated area, and then we want to move throughout the community. We are also currently in partnership with Battle Creek public schools because we know that housing impacts the education system, the education system impacts housing, and they also both impact health. So, we're looking at trying to create a framework where we can bring all the different entities together and work towards a common goal to move people out of poverty and make it a vibrant community.
LR: You came to WHUMCC four years ago to lead a small congregation, and you have done so much more than that in a short amount of time. You’re now a housing developer, a landlord, a community hub. How can other faith leaders and congregations follow your lead?
MF: I think a lot has to do with individual choices. Someone looking to get involved has to find that it is their passion to be a part of the transformation of their community. It’s a lot of work and anyone wanting to take on that responsibility has to be up for the challenge because it is challenging. But most importantly, you need listen to and work with the community and not do what you think it needs.
LR: How do you see the investments the church has made impacting the community?
MF: I see vibrancy coming back to the community. I see more community engagement as a result of the upkeep and beautification. We have a lot of people that participate with the Neighborhood Planning Council. And we have a lot of people keeping up their yards, making sure the areas are clean. I see where there was once hope-fatigue, people have hope again. It feels more alive. You know, we still have a lot of work to do, but we've come a long way.
LR: Anything else you’d like to share with others in communities like yours about how they can start being involved and playing a positive role in their communities?
MF: First, see what the community could be, not where it is now. And, when you see something that ignites that passion in you, hold on to that passion when the times get difficult, because that'll help you to keep moving forward.
For more on the opportunities and challenges presented by YIGBY laws, see this interview, which references Shook, Jill Suzanne, ed. 2012. Making Housing Happen: Faith-Based Affordable Housing Models.
“Opportunity hoarding” occurs when groups with access to resources prevent those from more under-resourced groups from utilizing those resources. Examples of opportunity hoarding include: affluent, predominantly-white communities that are zoned to only allow single-family homes and oppose proposals to allow multi-family housing that would bring lower-income residents into their community; parents of children in affluent schools who donate and raise funds that provides resources to their children’s schools that aren’t provided in less affluent schools nearby; residents of higher-income, usually predominantly-white, neighborhoods that secede from the surrounding city and create their own municipality in order to keep their property taxes from funding services and schools in adjacent lower-income, usually predominantly African American and Hispanic areas. Opportunity hoarding perpetuates and exacerbates racial segregation. For more, see Sheryll Cashin’s White Space, Black Hood: Opportunity Hoarding and Segregation in the Age of Inequality. Sheryll Cashin also spoke at the event hosted by WHUMCC in Battle Creek - LR