Abbreviated excerpt from The House Next Door by the Presbyterian Foundation.

What should a church do with property it no longer needs? It’s a question that many congregations are facing. Gateway Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs, CO owns a house that was used as a manse (minister’s house) for several decades. Gateway members began to consider how they could honor God with good stewardship of this resource they affectionately called “the house next door.”

“It’s a paid-for asset and it had been rental property for 20 years. And the general consensus was, we’re not called to be landlords, but we’re probably called to use that in some kind of ministry,” said Rev. Victoria Isaacs, pastor of Gateway.

A dedicated crew of church volunteers fixed up the house without being entirely sure how it might be used. That is, until Elder Paula Warrell had an idea.

Warrell recalled, “One morning … I read an article saying some of the Afghans would be coming to the United States. I thought: well, here we have this big house and it’ll be ready.”

At that time, hundreds of refugees had settled in the Rocky Mountain region, fleeing violence, persecution, and poverty. Lutheran Family Services is the agency that helps the families settle in the area. The first step is finding them a transitional place to live. That can be a challenge.

“As anywhere in the country, rents are increasing at very high rates,” explained Matthew Cramm of Lutheran Family Services. “We always have to keep in mind that when our families get here, they end up in minimum wage jobs, so we also have to factor in that they’re going to have to be able to pay this rent with the jobs they get.”

More than that, refugees need a sense of community, and that’s one of the unique ways a church like Gateway can help.

“They need care … they need people that understand that starting their lives all over again is extremely difficult,” said Floyd Preston of Lutheran Family Services. “But what makes it easy is churches like this … come alongside the families and help them and alleviate some of that pressure to know that “you’re not by yourself, we’re here to walk with you.”

Just a few months after reaching out to the agency, Victoria got the call that a family from Afghanistan needed a home in Colorado Springs. The house next door was ready.

Victoria visited with neighbors to ensure they would be welcoming. And they were.

The neighbors have embraced this family knowing that circumstances in their homeland were dire.

The family fled the wrath of the Taliban. The oldest son of the family had served as an interpreter for the U.S military in Afghanistan. He emigrated to America six years ago. When the U.S forces pulled out of Afghanistan, his family became targets of the Taliban, who threatened members of the family at gunpoint, twice. The U.S. State Department got the family safely out of Afghanistan, and Lutheran Family Services helped them resettle in Colorado Springs.

The family is learning English and how to find jobs. As they re-build their lives, they feel at home in the house next door.

The refugees reported, “We’re so happy for living in this house. Especially, we are safe here. It’s like a good thing for us that we’re next to the church. They bring some foods for children for us or sometimes some books for us. They have helped us a lot in everything. We are thanking God that we have them here.”

Church members feel a renewed sense of purpose and how God is using the house next door. They spend time with the family and invite them to church events. Through it all, they are following Christ’s command to love their neighbor.

Warrell exclaimed, “It was just meant to be. It was a miracle. We had the place. We had the people working and we all had open hearts to welcome a family. And then we got the best family in the world.”

“Their history has been ‘the little church that could.’ And, yet again, God has allowed them to be able to do something meaningful and life-changing,” said Rev. Isaacs.