There’s a practice in Amish and some Mennonite traditions called “barn raising” where the entire community lifts timbers and framing from the earth and adjoins them together, outlining the sky with a new structure — an elevation of both the building itself and the community that built it.

The completed barn is something community members can use for personal and communal good. It also contributes to the greater society by housing livestock and equipment. It is a testament to the strength of people working together to accomplish a task.

“Barn raising” asks community members to leave their day’s work or social obligations for the good of the whole. While it takes skill and precision, not everyone participating is a skilled craftsperson. Each person brings what they can and contributes. As the proverb states, many hands make light work.

While we won’t be raising any barns anytime soon at Settled, we are building homes for people who need them. And we build permanent homes—not temporary shelters.

We rely on God to inspire churches and private donors to fund and sponsor homes. We invite volunteers to work alongside professionals to construct the homes. We share meals and sing during the build. And when the homes are moved onto a church’s property, rooted deeply into the same earth the wood was raised from, we celebrate the people who worked together to create not just a house – but a home – for someone who needs it.

Our idea of Permanent Homes is greater than just a structure for someone to live in. It’s bigger than four walls, a roof, and a door. Permanent Homes is a biblically inspired belief that God is inviting all of us to settle down, build and restore homes, plant gardens, and work for the peace and prosperity of our neighborhoods.

Like a completed barn, one of our tiny homes tucked into a Sacred Settlement signals a place of personal and communal good. It beckons someone to live there and find ways to contribute to a neighborhood.

The tiny home is a permanent symbol, representing time, energy, and resources invested by a Full Community into the eternal value of a person who will call it home.

It stands as a testament to the strength
of people working together.

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce... seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  
‍- Jeremiah 29:5,7

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