Starting September 25 … Time to Sign Up!

Every two years, Woodland members (with help from our friends at Covenant Baptist Church) build a Habitat for Humanity home with a family in need. This will be our fourth house, having built ones in 2004, 2006 and 2008. In the past, as many as 100 members have helped with this project that changes the lives of the partnering family.

What is Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio? It is an ecumenical Christian non-profit housing organization working in partnership with God’s people in need to build simple, decent and affordable houses. HFHSA has built over 600 houses in San Antonio, which has the second highest level of poverty housing among American cities. HFHSA works with low-income families who would not otherwise be able to afford a house. They partner with families in need and help them build affordable houses for themselves and their families at no interest and no profit (Exodus 22). The families must put in a minimum of 300 sweat equity hours and repay the interest-free mortgage over 20 years. This brilliant program that is a hand-up and not a hand-out was conceived by a Baptist theologian named Clarence Jordan in 1968.

Every two years, through a combination of budget and designated offerings, Woodland donates the cost of a house and provides the volunteers for 7 consecutive Saturdays. This year our build will start on September 25 and end on November 6, with the house blessing on November 13. The build will be in the same subdivision we built in last time—near Palo Alto College.

The average Habitat family of 4 has a monthly income of $1,600. The house payment (thanks to no profit and no interest and volunteer labor) works out to $400 per month (including $200 of taxes and insurance escrow), thus only taking up 25% of these families’ income.

This is an opportunity to put your faith in action and see a tangible end-result that changes a family and future generations forever. What a powerful sermon without using any words!

We have a new high-tech way to sign up to volunteer. Go to www.woodlandbc.org/missions/Habitat and there you will find a link that will enable you to register online. Just select the number of people from your family who will be coming out on your selected Saturdays and click the orange Register button. This will take you to a screen where you input names, emails, phone numbers, etc. When complete, just click the orange Complete Registration button.

Volunteering to bring LUNCHES will be done the old fashioned way. There is a sign-up sheet in the Information Center.

Contact coordinator Phil Sagebiel for further information.