Texas ministry building 16 tiny houses to provide medical patients with free housing
Houses for Healing, a Texas-based nonprofit organization that provides free, short-term living for those experiencing medical crises, has announced it is adding 16 new houses to its faith-based ministry.
The ministry, located in North Abilene, comprises four houses that provide shelter to families who go to Abilene for medical treatment. Six local churches help feed, minister to and provide transportation for residents in each home.
Now, 16 more miniature houses will be added across the street from the four already in existence.
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Brian Massey, the founder and president of Houses of Healing, told The Christian Post that when the new houses are added to the initiative, up to 30 additional churches will likely step up to meet the needs of new residents.
“We build tiny houses to love neighbors and take care of the sick, and we invite churches to adopt houses. They minister to the residents and help them to know the Lord and provide food and transportation for them,” Massey said.
The ministry provides short-term living spaces for those facing debilitating medical conditions for three months at a time.
“We love whoever comes into the tiny houses. We will soon have 20 different houses serving the Big Country area of Texas. Whoever is coming in from Abilene for healthcare, we don’t want them to die and go to Hell. We hope the residents will begin to see the Church as a resource in times of great health need and for other needs.”
Massey said Houses for Healing was founded in 2016 after he got a vision from God while on a prayer walk.
“I was praying for the pillar of society and for a revival and awakening for transformation,” Massey said, adding that he remembers tears streaming down his face during the 2014 prayer walk.
“I heard the voice of God tell me, ‘I won’t give you revival until you have unity.’ And so, I started praying for unity. The Lord then asked me, ‘What do you want to do for this?’ And then, God gave me the vision of the idea for Houses for Healing.”
In March 2015, Massey purchased two plots of land to make his vision a reality. However, he held off on actually launching the initiative because he was afraid of failure.
“We had the money to start, but we waited because we had a lot of hesitancy,” he recalled. “I realized that once I started building, there was no going back, and I would be faced with counting the costs. I was afraid of starting something and saying that it was God’s command and then falling on my face and failing.”
As the initiative remained on pause in the next few months, Massey visited a woman named Sandra in the hospital who had severe scoliosis and breast cancer. She needed a place to stay after being discharged from the hospital, but because Massey had not started working on his ministry homes yet, he had no place to offer her.
“I made a vow to Sandra. I told her, ‘I haven’t done what I’ve been scared to do, but I’m going to start.’ But Sandra had no choice but to go home. And then, I went to her funeral six months later in August of 2016,” Massey said.
“The Lord gave me the vision in 2015, and I just sat on it. The realization that someone may have been alive if I had acted sooner is heavy for me. Life and death sometimes hangs in the balance when God calls you to do something in the name of Jesus. And that’s what it took for me to found the organization.”
Fueled by Sandra’s death, Massey began working on Houses of Healing the fall after she died in September and October 2016.
As the ministry expands in the coming weeks, Massey has high hopes for the future. He believes that God will call more people and churches in a coming revival to help the sick population.
“We want churches all over to see the opportunity to care for the sick so that we can have a lot of impact on the nation and ultimately, the world,” Massey shared. “We have so many needs. The need is so vast. The Church at large can work together in unity and begin to engage across denominational lines and help more people get medical care. We want this to be a movement. And we are already seeing this happen.”
