8 FAITH focus B Houston church builds new social landscape


BY KATHY L. GILBERT United Methodist News Service


HOUSTON—When the Rev. Kir-


byjon Caldwell was appointed to Windsor Village United Methodist Church in 1982, there were about “25 faithful members” in the pews on Sunday. The neighborhood was under-


served, underdeveloped and full of blight. “After the bishop told me I was


coming here, I peered through the front door, and I saw pill bugs, and I saw cobwebs. And I saw a Lawrence Welk organ. And I saw a pulpit and a piece of the microphone and a cross. And I thought, ‘That’s all we need,’” said Mr. Caldwell, who is now senior pastor of the largest United Methodist congregation in the United States. Windsor Village now has a mem-


bership of more than 18,000. The neighborhood has grown from blight to a mini-city with a housing develop- ment, shopping, fast-food restaurants, medical facilities, schools, a YMCA and the 190,000-square-foot Kingdom Builders Center with a sanctuary in- side. To Mr. Caldwell and members of


Windsor Village, this 234-acre com- munity—Pointe 2.3.4—is the result of what happens when love meets needs. “I remember very clearly Pastor


Caldwell talking about developing the 234-acre vision, and being able to build a community for affordable housing. And I thought that was just phenomenal,” said Millicent Haynes, director of ministries and a longtime church member. “You see children going to school,


The Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell


folks going to work, people living in nice houses . . . you see health-care fa-


cilities open to the least, the last and the lost. . . . This is what God said we should do in the book of Genesis,” Mr. Caldwell said. Turn at the intersection of South


Post Oak and West Omen in central southwest Houston, and it looks like any other busy corner in a large city. A CVS pharmacy, Walgreens, Taco Bell, McDonald’s and Advance Auto Center flank both sides of the entrance. The first clue that this is no ordi-


nary neighborhood is the name of the subdivision: Corinthian Pointe. Corinthian Pointe is a residential


area with 462 low- to moderately- priced houses. When Corinthian Pointe was built five years ago, the me- dian price for homes was $90,000 to $110,000. The market value has now risen about 30 percent.


Part of the kingdom Lining streets with names like


“Miracle Lane,” “Faith” and “Majesty” are rows of neatly manicured lawns and driveways full of cars, trucks and kids’ bikes. There are almost no “for sale” signs, and no homeowners are in foreclosure, Mr. Caldwell said. Most of the people living here are first-time homeowners who received financial counseling from Windsor Village be-


fore purchasing their homes. Mr. Caldwell said he knows some


folks might view the massive project as “an extracurricular activity relative to the Bible,” but he views it as part of the Wesleyan spirit. He also sees it as evan- gelism because it has generated a lot of enthusiasm from people in Houston. The housing development is about


45 percent Hispanic. “Back in the day, they said black and brown folk, espe- cially middle-class, couldn’t live to- gether,” Mr. Caldwell said. “And they do it with joy and thanksgiving right there in Corinthian Pointe.” In addition to the subdivision,


there is also Corinthian Village, a 121- unit independent-living facility for older adults. Texas Children’s Pedi- atrics, located in a cluster of retail and medical clinics, offers services for children regardless of their parents’ ability to pay. Jean Hines Caldwell Elementary


School—named for Mr. Caldwell’s mother—serves 750 children in the subdivision and surrounding area. The YMCA is the first built in a


predominantly African-American community in Houston in 50 years. Future plans include a prayer cen-


ter and a new sanctuary. When every- thing is complete, its projected value


will be more than $173 million and will generate more than 400 perma- nent jobs. But this massive undertaking is


just one of 75 active ministries ongo- ing at Windsor Village. “The range of ministries is numer-


ous, and they are designed to meet any needs that we have within the congregation,” said Ms. Haynes. There is an ongoing monthly recruiting ef- fort through the new membership class and an annual ministry fair that issues a call for action for all members of the congregation to get connected to the life of the church, she said. “Pastor Caldwell reminds us all the


time that sheep beget sheep,” she said. “We make it a priority to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.” Mr. Caldwell said he has heard


some pastors make fun of churches with a lot of ministries. “I heard one pastor refer to a church as ‘Six Flags Over Jesus.’” But both Jesus and John Wesley had a “pretty cool, diversified ministry,” he said. “Not only is the spirit of Jesus still


alive and well, but the spirit of Wesley is alive and well because Wesley was a great spiritual entrepreneurial leader. And when I grow up, I want to be like him.”


AP RIL 1, 2011 | UNITED MET HODI S T REPORTER


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