Community, inclusivity, and Christian values have been at the heart of Habitat for Humanity’s mission since its founding in 1976. And since 1986, Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity has sought to put God’s love into action to build homes alongside volunteers, supporters and those in need of affordable housing regardless of background, race or religion.
One of the best examples of the Christian community coming together to make a significant impact on Habitat’s mission to create affordable housing is the Lutheran Task Force.
Established in 1993, the Lutheran Task Force was comprised of more than 40 Lancaster County-based Lutheran Churches. Between 1993 and 2012, when the Lutheran Task Force was most active, they raised nearly $1 million from generous donations from local congregations and money leveraged from Thrivent grants to support Habitat builds. And local Lutheran congregations were committed to volunteering as well. Hundreds of members from Lutheran congregations across Lancaster County came together to volunteer on Habitat build sites and many others supported the mission through their work on the Habitat board and various committees.
The initial driving force to establish the Lutheran Task Force came from one longtime Habitat volunteer, former Habitat board president and committee member, Wayne Gongaware.
“Many of these churches, as is still the case today, are on the smaller side,” says Gongaware. “I thought if we got a bunch of them together, it’d be much easier to pledge donations, in addition to come up with more volunteers. So that’s when I thought about the idea of putting a task force together that would encompass all our Lutheran churches.”
At the time, Gongaware was a financial advisor for Aid Association for Lutherans, which went on to merge with Lutheran Brotherhood to become what’s now known as Thrivent.
(Since officially partnering with Habitat for Humanity in 2005, Thrivent and its clients have contributed more than $282 million to Habitat affiliates, and Thrivent volunteers have helped more than 25,000 individuals access affordable homes around the world.)
When Gongaware learned his company provided grants to Habitat, he decided to seek out the Lancaster affiliate and inquire about their needs and gauge their interest in applying for a grant.
That first grant, which provided the Lancaster Habitat affiliate with nearly $30,000 (a significant amount at that time), was only the beginning.
“It was great because we could provide a lot more resources to Habitat by coming together in such a large group,” says Gongaware. “Plus, then we could apply for more grants from Thrivent to do this work. We took a lot of advantage of those grants.”
Funding from Thrivent grants and local Lutheran congregations contributed to Habitat builds in the Emerald Valley community, a home on Beech Street in the Borough of Denver; three homes on Green Street; two on South Queen Street and three on Fairview Avenue in Lancaster City as well as many others.
Task force members and their congregations contributed to Habitat’s mission, not only financially and by volunteering on build sites, but by leading prayers, raising awareness, and offering marketing and communications support. One unique initiative involved the creation of a beautiful Habitat-themed quilt, which was turned into a poster and offered in exchange for donations to Habitat.
The Lutheran Tasks Force’s work slowed down just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but many of its members and partners, including Thrivent, and, of course Gongaware, have continued to support Habitat in various ways.
“It’s a very satisfying feeling to see that I’ve been able to help others get to their dreams,” says Gongaware. “Plus, part of my faith is giving back and helping others. That’s a major part of our Christian values: serving other people.”