Our mission unites good-hearted people even in divided times
Our mission unites good-hearted people even in divided times
Editor’s note: “How we build a better world” is a regular series of articles offering a closer look at the methods and principles of enlightened charity that make our affordable housing ministry so effective.
Fuller Center volunteers come from all kinds of backgrounds — different political leanings, varying religious perspectives, and many other points of view.
In a block line in Peru, a Democrat hands a concrete block to a Republican, who passes it to an independent, who then hands it to a local mason who knows nothing of American politics. And they are all smiles.
In Georgia, a wealthy volunteer and a working-class local carry lumber from a pile to an empty slab that will soon become a simple, decent home for a family they just met.
In Louisiana, Christians line up beside nonbelievers, and young people line up beside older folks to raise the first wall of a new home.
In other words, it’s just another day on a Fuller Center job site.
One of The Fuller Center for Housing’s founding principles is: “We are unashamedly Christian and enthusiastically ecumenical.” The Fuller Center is also ecumenical in a broader sense, welcoming volunteers, homeowners and supporters from all political perspectives — so long as they share a heart for helping families have simple, decent places to live.
Co-founder Linda Fuller has said that inclusiveness was central to the idea behind the “Theology of the Hammer.”
“Millard and I set a goal in 1976 to eliminate poverty housing in the world,” she said. “We knew it would take hundreds of thousands of people working together to accomplish that goal. As a means to inspire and rally people, Millard coined the phrase ‘Theology of the Hammer,’ based upon putting God’s love into action by using a tool of Jesus — and a hammer fits into every hand.”
Camilo Leal first became acquainted with The Fuller Center when volunteers from diverse backgrounds united in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2013 to repair his home and more than 20 others after Superstorm Sandy. Since then, he has become a repeat volunteer at builds across multiple states.
He knows volunteers bring different viewpoints, but he focuses on what they share.
“It feels good to be with people who have a common goal — helping and making sure that everyone has the opportunity to call a place home,” Leal said. “It fills your chest — it fills your heart.”
Veteran volunteer Chuck Ingraham has described that unity in similar terms, calling Fuller Center job sites “an oasis” in turbulent times.
“This has a great deal to do with the people you meet — from all corners of life, all ages — taking their vacation time to give back,” he said. “They’re not out on their boats. They’re not playing golf. They’re here working their rear ends off from morning until sunset. And they’re all here out of the goodness of their hearts.
“I’ve told people this for two decades: You want to surround yourself with people you aspire to be like. … This is my refuge.”
For homeowner partners like Napoleon Darby, whose previous home was destroyed by a deadly tornado in Beauregard, Alabama, in 2019, witnessing that unity firsthand instilled a renewed sense of hope.
“You see all the hate that’s on the news, and you miss out on all the good love that’s out there,” he said as his new home was being built less than two months later. “This tells me there’s more love in the world than hate.”
In essence, the reason people of such diverse backgrounds, beliefs and political perspectives come together comes down to one simple truth: Few would argue against helping people help themselves.
By providing a hand-up instead of a handout, The Fuller Center offers an oasis of unity — building a better world, one house at a time.
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