Habitat for Humanity builds on Christian foundations By Robert P. Mills The Presbyterian Layman Volume 34, Number 2 Posted March 26, 2001 Long before the appearance of dot.com billionaires, Millard Fuller became one of the country’s youngest self-made millionaires. By age 29, he had acquired “all the things money could buy. But in the process of gaining personal wealth, I almost lost my wife.” She left for New York. He followed. And there, “We decided to go on a personal pilgrimage.” That pilgrimage led through Koinonia Farms near Americus, Ga., to the former Zaire and back to a chicken barn at Koinonia, where Habitat for Humanity was launched 25 years ago. Fuller gave a keynote address to the conference, “Faith in the Future: Religion, Aging and Healthcare in the 21st Century,” held March 4-5 at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Student and teacher “Someone has said that when the student is ready to learn, the teacher appears,” Fuller said. He and his wife Linda intended to stay at Koinonia Farms for only two hours. Instead, they stayed a month, learning from Koinonia’s founder, Clarence Jordan. “That great man of faith nurtured us,” Fuller said. “And while so many of our family and friends thought we had gone crazy, he understood, and the people of Koinonia understood, that there are greater things in life than money.” Following a Biblical principle, the Fullers took all that they had and gave it to the poor. Then they went to Zaire to build houses for the poor. When they returned, Fuller founded Habitat for Humanity, while working as a lawyer to finance his children’s education. “I had an office with two phones,” he recalls, “one for my law practice, one for Habitat. I made enough money to put my children through school.” In the past 25 years, Habitat has built more than 100,000 houses, and has plans to build 100,000 more by 2006. All houses are sold at no profit and no interest and require an investment of “sweat equity,” labor by the prospective owners on the homes they soon will occupy. Helping hands In 1984, Fuller went to visit a neighbor, Jimmy Carter. “I’m here to find out if you’re interested in Habitat or very interested,” he chuckled. Carter asked for a list of ways he and Rosalyn could help. Fuller made a list of 15 things, “hoping he’d agree to two or three.” The Carters agreed to all 15 and have remained active in Habitat ever since. To counter criticism of a prominent Democrat’s involvement, Fuller approached Gerald Ford and said, “I need a visible Republican.” Ford replied, “I’m glad to be supportive, but I can’t be another Jimmy Carter. My wife gives me a picture to hang and I bend the nail.” Fuller fired back, “That’s OK, we can use even a totally unskilled person such as yourself.” Ford agreed to join Habitat’s board of advisers. Christian foundations Speaking to an appreciative interfaith audience, Fuller was unapologetic about Habitat’s Christian foundations, noting, however, that “hardly a day passes in my office that I don’t get letters of severe criticism because we’re a Christian organization. People don’t want to hear about Jesus. They just want us to build houses. But every day for 25 years, we have begun our work day with devotions and prayer because we believe that dimension of our work is so awesomely important. “We are a Christian organization with open doors. Churches have doctrine. We don’t have doctrine. The only doctrine we have is that if you don’t have a Habitat bumper sticker on your car, you’re living in sin. We build houses for all people regardless of religion or race because God’s love leaves no one out. God’s love extends to everyone.” Fuller concluded with a story of Jimmy Carter’s 1999 trip to the Philippines, where Habitat built 283 houses in five days across the country. The Salas family was chosen to receive the house Carter worked on, and Leonista Salas was asked to be the family spokesperson. “I keep thinking this is a dream,” Salas said. “I can’t believe we’re going to a good house to live in. I am so grateful to God.” Then she shared what she found most significant. “Do you remember Monday,” she asked, “when it was blazing hot, no shade, almost noon? [Carter] was mixing mortar to lay blocks. I saw his sweat was mixing in the mortar. That is what will mean the most to us, knowing that his sweat is in our house.”

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