There are 153 congregations in the United Methodist Church’s Oregon-Idaho conference — more than half see 25 or fewer worshippers every Sunday.

As church pews become increasingly empty, the United Methodist Church and denominations across Oregon are hoping to turn their underutilized properties into housing. Church leaders say they’re located in city centers, which are convenient locations for people who need services.

“In the coming years, there will be a large wave of churches deciding what to do with their land, adding to the thousands of acres of land in desirable locations that could be developed for affordable housing,” Rev. Brett Pinder of the Oregon-Idaho Conference told legislators in Salem on Wednesday.

Yet, many religious organizations can’t afford the predevelopment costs: municipal fees, feasibility studies and community engagement costs. Therefore, many projects never get off the ground.

Legislators are now considering House Bill 2964, which would provide loans and grants for nonprofits looking to build affordable housing on their land by covering those initial costs. The funds are not limited to religious groups, but they have been some of the main proponents. The Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, a nonprofit supporting churches in the state, helped draft the legislation.

The current version of the bill states organizations will not receive more than $200,000 in grants or loans. The money could only go toward predevelopment costs, which could include traffic studies and assembling financial packages.

Reps. Mark Gamba, D-Milwaukie, and Cyrus Javadi, R-Tillamook, have sponsored the bill and it currently sits in the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness.

Gamba told OPB religious organizations are uniquely ready to help meet the state’s ongoing affordable housing shortage.

“I would even argue for a lot of churches that don’t have dwindling congregations, they still have large pieces of land and they recognize the desperate need for affordable housing,” Gamba said.

As membership declines, Portland churches see money and ministry in affordable housing

Several faith leaders attended a Wednesday public hearing for the meeting. Rev. Drew Hogan, lead pastor for Tabor Heights United Methodist Church in Portland, said his church only has 12 parishioners and a lack of resources for completing a housing project on its own. That could deter outside investment for the project.

“The reality we face is we have about three years to do this work,” Hogan said. “We know without practical funding and access from grants and the ability to partner with developers, those opportunities will shrink and selling the land at a low rate may not be possible.”

Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, chairs the Housing and Homelessness Committee, and told OPB on Friday she expects the bill to make it out of the committee — but not without a couple changes. She would like the bill to focus exclusively on forgivable loans, not grants.

“I think forgivable loans are the right path, rather than grants,” Marsh said. “I want people who ask for money from these pots to understand that we’re really looking for projects. We’re not looking for conversations.”

Pastor Anna Hoesly is a staff organizer with Leaven Community Land and Housing Coalition, one of the faith-led organizations that co-authored the bill. She said that grants are important to the bill because loans can be prohibitive to financially struggling churches.

Forgivable loans are still a step in the right direction, she said, but it’s important that these funds remain accessible to organizations that need them the most.

“[Churches] just really want to do this and leave this legacy on their land,” Hoesly said.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/03/22/oregon-churches-land-housing-units-bill/