Developer Roundtable Event Recap: Partnering with Faith Communities
- Seacoast WHC
- Aug 20
- 4 min read
On July 24, 2025, developers, faith leaders, and pro-housing advocates from across the Greater Seacoast gathered at Temple Israel in Portsmouth for a Developer Roundtable. The event was hosted by the Home for All Coalition in partnership with the Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast, Housing Action NH, New Hampshire Housing, the Community Development Finance Authority, NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs, Granite United Way, Fair Tide, and the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth.
The Roundtable explored how faith-based organizations can help address the housing crisis and support diverse housing solutions. Facilitated by Nick Taylor, Executive Director of Housing Action NH and former Director of the Workforce Housing Coalition, the conversation touched on shifting demographics within congregations, examples of existing partnerships, and the shared mission of building and strengthening community.
The Changing Role of Congregations
Religious affiliation has declined sharply in New Hampshire and across New England. As of 2024, 48% of adults in the state identified as religiously unaffiliated, up from 27% in 2007, while the share of residents identifying as Christian has dropped nearly 20% in two decades.
This shift has left many congregations with fewer members and limited resources. However, houses of worship remain central to historical and modern community identity. This dynamic was voiced multiple times at the Developer Roundtable, in which faith-based leaders sought opportunities to maximize use of their spaces and build partnerships to strengthen community ties through non-traditional avenues.
Questions at the forefront of the discussion included: What role do faith-based organizations play in communities? How might their reach, historical influence, and/or special resources be channeled into giving and mission-based programming outside of their traditional settings? One clear option lies in helping to alleviate the housing crisis.
Examples Around the Table
Several faith leaders shared projects already underway. Representatives from the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire described how they partnered with the Portsmouth Housing Authority to redevelop church land in Portsmouth, creating 44 workforce housing units and a new headquarters for Haven, a nonprofit serving survivors of domestic violence. Although the process has faced challenges, Reverend Steve Falci reaffirmed his church’s commitment to its mission of sheltering and supporting vulnerable neighbors.
Other participants spoke of contributions that did not involve direct land donations. For example, 4 Rivers Church in Durham has partnered with refugee resettlement programs to pool resources and secure stable housing for families arriving in the community. Still others described supporting local social service organizations through funding, volunteer organizing, and other collaborative efforts that expand housing stability in indirect but meaningful ways.
There was also discussion about repurposing underutilized places of worship themselves into housing, particularly in rural towns with declining membership and multiple churches. While no such projects have yet been undertaken in the Seacoast region, the practice is becoming more popular across the state, with the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance publishing guidance for congregations considering how to transition their properties to meet housing demand.
Embracing the YIGBY Movement
"Housing creates neighborhoods, and neighborhoods create community."
One thing became abundantly clear during the conversation: there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the issue, and there are numerous ways in which faith-based organizations can contribute to regional housing solutions. When asked whether faith-based leaders had seen or heard about the stress associated with attainable and workforce housing within their communities, every hand was raised.
Across the country, the YIGBY movement is growing, with legislation enabling zoning exemptions for faith-based spaces. By saying “Yes in God’s Backyard,” partnerships can be unlocked between faith-based organizations, pro-homes advocacy groups, developers, and more to advance housing opportunities. The lack of one standard framework allows for the customization of each individual space and congregation based on their needs and the needs of their community.
The developers at the Roundtable emphasized that they were open to any and all conversation, even if a place of worship didn’t necessarily have land to give. Organizing events, partnering with other nonprofits, or even speaking to members of the congregation that may have usable land are all key ways to engage within the pro-homes movement.
As one panelist noted, housing creates neighborhoods, and neighborhoods create community.
Moving Forward
Conversations like these provide the opportunity for a new idea or connection that can create true and lasting change within our region. Thank you to Home for All for leading this event, and to all co-hosts and supporters—including the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Temple Israel Portsmouth, and Granite United Way—for making this gathering possible. Most of all, thank you to the faith leaders, developers, and community members committed to expanding housing opportunities in the Greater Seacoast and beyond.