Theology of the Hammer – Millard Fuller, President and Founder of Habitat for Humanity

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.
Matthew 25:35-36

If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.
Deuteronomy 15:7-8

Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
Isaiah 58:12

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it.
1 Corinthians 3:9-10

Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.
Luke 6:46-49

We are getting involved with Habitat for Humanity Oakland County.

Technically, I live in Macomb County. But my church is in Oakland County. So since I hope to get involved with the church, I hope a relationship can be made between Habitat Oakland County and my church, St. Anastasia.
Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to try and eliminate substandard housing world wide.

It was founded in 1976 by Millard Fuller and his wife Linda in Americus, Georgia. She was mad at him for ignoring her and his family for a job that paid well, so she left him to think about the situation. He begged her to come back saying he changed. He quit his job and sold his belongings and together they started Habitat.

Habitat for Humanity Oakland County is an “affiliate” of Habitat for Humanity International.
There are 84 affiliates in Michigan. In 2004 Habitat Oakland County won Michigan Affiliate of the Year.

Since 1994, Habitat Oakland County has built 61 houses in Oakland County. They house about 220 people, about 135 of them children. They are currently focused on houses in Pontiac. In 2002 they built 4 houses. In 2005 they built 13.

Build Procedure:
All houses have basements.
Volunteers do exterior, drywall, moldings, toilets, landscaping and a lot of other easy stuff.
Professionals do tough stuff that must meet code.
The average build takes 14 weeks building every Saturday.
Blitz builds take 1 to 2 weeks.

Finance Information:
It costs about $65,000 to build the house. Houses must be fully funded before ground is broken. There are currently 24 lots in Habitat Oakland County waiting for homes.
In the end, most houses get conservatively appraised around $100,000.
The family who will move into the home will end up with a mortgage payment of about $450 a month including taxes and insurance.
Most mortgage loans are for 20 to 30 years at 0% interest.
All mortgage payments are pumped back into Habitat to build more homes.

Family selection process:
The family’s household income must be 30%-50% of median community income. They must have income that enables them to pay the mortgage. They must currently be living in substandard or hazardous conditions. They must be willing to work 300 hours on their house and other Habitat homes.

Sponsorship:
Since it costs $65,000 before you can start building, Habitat asks for sponsors. Sponsors get first dibs on one or more of the fourteen Saturday workdays for a regular build.
$65,000 divided by 14 days is about $4600 dollars per day. So if we pull together enough people to donate about $5000, We can Adopt-A-Day and we would get to work on the house that day. Otherwise, we have to wait for openings to the public when sponsors can’t work a particular day. The amount of volunteers needed on a work site varies depending on where they are in the build. If it’s early in the build where they need to put up walls and frames, they need about 20-24 volunteers. If it’s later in the build where they’re putting up cabinets, they might only need 10-12 volunteers. Too little and too many volunteers is dangerous.

Other info:
Habitat was founded and remains a Christian ministry. But religious conviction and practice is not a requirement in any way to become a Habitat homeowner or volunteer.
Volunteers are needed in construction and more. Non construction activities include site hosting, fundraising, special events, and helping with family selection.