Fillmore Christian Church donates to Habitat build

At the national level, Habitat for Humanity believes in everyone having a “safe, healthy and affordable place to call home.” This notion is derived from the organization’s principle to “demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ.”

At the local level, the Putnam County office believes part of sticking to these ideals means connecting with the churches in the community. No matter the denomination, each church brings a set of beliefs that includes serving the community and helping others.

Fillmore Christian Church is one of the Putnam County churches that has financially contributed to Habitat for Humanity this year. When I spoke with the pastor of Fillmore Christian, Mike Faust, he was happy to share the reasoning behind this donation.

Pastor Faust explained how he was introduced to Habitat’s work during President Jimmy Carter’s time in office. During his time as the pastor at a church in Lexington, Ky., he and his team completed the build of a Habitat home. Since coming to Fillmore Christian Church, Pastor Faust has overseen the missions team as they considered donating to Habitat in previous years.

This year, they chose to help out a “home mission” and made a generous donation to Habitat for Humanity. In the words of Pastor Faust, Habitat’s work is all about “bringing people with different skills and expertise together to work toward a common mindset.”

The difference between a monetary donation or manpower is not something to stop a person from supporting the cause. No matter the contribution, the passion to help the community is what powers Habitat to continue its work. At the end of the day, “a little bit is a lot in the hands of God” said Pastor Faust when asked about the importance of this donation. It is this strong faith that turns simple plots of land into safe homes for families across the world.

The congregation of Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church also made a donation this year. Habitat for Humanity is grateful for every donation they receive, large or small.

During the time of COVID-19, the construction of the current home will look different than previous builds. However, this will not stop our organization from progressing with the current home. The goal to create “a world where everyone has a decent place to live” will continue on long after this pandemic is over.