How a Collaborative Spirit is Building the Good Housing Network
I’ll admit, when I first started showing up to the Good Housing Network, I was clearly the least knowledgeable guy in the room when it came to affordable housing. Around the table were architects, developers, attorneys, nonprofit leaders, and city officials—people who have spent their careers tackling one of our region’s greatest challenges, but what I’ve witnessed has been deeply inspiring. Under the leadership of Kim Stands and Jeaneen Hooks, this remarkable group of men and women, many of
whom deeply love Jesus, share a growing conviction that housing is at the root of so many challenges keeping our neighbors and our city from flourishing.
I often think of God's vision in Isaiah 65:21–22, “They 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.” (NIV) What if the Church of Columbus could help make that vision more tangible in our own city? What if the land, expertise, relationships, and resources God has entrusted to His people could be brought together for the good of our neighbors?
That's what makes the Good Housing Network, a ministry of For Columbus, so compelling. Since April 2025, this growing coalition of faith-motivated leaders has been bringing together vision, partnerships, and resources to increase Good Housing—housing that is safe, healthy, and attainable for all people. And they're moving beyond conversations into real collaboration, from unlocking underutilized church land to connecting developers, building capacity, and exploring new funding opportunities.
If you care about seeing Columbus flourish and believe the Church has a unique role to play, we'd love to have you at the table. Come discover what we can accomplish together, and keep reading for more details on this network that is building a better Columbus for everyone. -Nick Nye
The Good Housing Network (GHN) under the ministry of For Columbus, is a place where vision, partnerships and resources become aligned to pursue the goal of increasing good housing in the Columbus Region. Good housing is safe, healthy and attainable for all people. GHN is a diverse coalition of faith-motivated leaders from across the housing development world. The network began meeting monthly in April 2025.
Network Participants: architects, for profit and nonprofit housing developers, churches, financial institutions, government agencies, housing organizations, nonprofit service providers
Network Focus
From the beginning, members identified that faith-based organizations and smaller nonprofit housing developers working at the neighborhood-level faced three persistent barriers:
Limited organizational & development capacity e.g. skills, knowledge and experience
Inability to access underutilized land of local churches and other faith-based institutions
Lack of early-stage capital
These barriers often prevent promising projects from advancing and restrict the Columbus Region’s ability to produce affordable housing that is rooted in community. Participants of the Good Housing Network come together to discover ways the faith-based community can work better together to overcome these barriers to increase Good Housing for all of our neighbors.
Network Practices
30/30 Roundtable: Every month, every participant (in-person & virtual) is given the opportunity to share project updates/stories from the last 30 days; and hopes/plans for the next 30 days.
Generosity: Listening for, with readiness to bring to the table, any resources, partnerships and collaborative opportunities.
Ad hoc working groups
The Good Housing Fund
The Good Housing 101 Playbook (for churches and others exploring affordable housing development),
The Good Land Matchmaker (matching underutilized church-owned land, housing developers/builders and financial institutions to create affordable housing development opportunities) - Kim Stands
Network Logistics
When: 2nd Thursdays of the month
Time: 8:30am to 10am
Place: Karl Road Baptist Church 5750 Karl Rd Columbus, Ohio 43229
