Yes, In God’s Back Yard (YIGBY): A Pastor Rebuilding Homes in North St. Louis

[Jaycee Greene]

🏘️ Yes, In God’s Back Yard: A Pastor Rebuilding Homes in North St. Louis

⛪During my days as a lender and now as a CFO Consultant, one of the most inspiring community-first leaders I’ve had the privilege to work with is Pastor Andre Alexander of Tabernacle Community Development Corp.

Based in North St. Louis, Pastor Andre isn’t your typical developer. He’s a visionary who saw potential in neighborhoods that others had written off — long before the recent tornados brought new attention to the area.

🛠️While others talked about revitalization, Pastor Andre rolled up his sleeves and got to work in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood, right around his church, The Tabernacle.

In just a few short years, he’s gone from:

➡️ Rehabbing one vacant property at a time to

➡️ Building The Hub, a neighborhood community center connecting families to critical resources, to

➡️ Leading the Hebert Homes Project, building and redeveloping 30+ single-family homes

He was doing this long before anyone heard the acronym, YIGBY – Yes In God’s Back Yard — which is a faith-based twist on YIMBY that encourages churches to lead affordable housing development right in their own neighborhoods

🤝🏾This isn’t charity — it’s community-building. Faith-based organizations like Tabernacle CDC are no longer waiting for outside help. They’re creating grassroots housing solutions by leveraging local relationships, community trust, and capital from financial and philanthropic partners.

This is what true community development looks like: rooted in relationships, led by locals, and powered by mission-aligned capital.

Know of a YIGBY-style effort in your area? I'd love to hear about it below!

[Clayton Silva]

This is awesome! I had the pleasure of meeting James and Joe Halsell of Halsell builders in Southern California and they are doing a similar project near Santa Barbara.  They work with a privately owned nonprofit that is doing a ton of work for homeless and veterans without the assistance of government subsidies or grants.  Chiefly among them they have a housing a development arm to provide truly affordable housing for rent while helping a lot of folks get back on their feet and provide a clean, safe place to live.  Once they are stabilized, the tenants have the option to buy their unit and start taking part in the American dream as well and they do homeownership counseling and help them get a fresh start in life.  I was blown away by their business model and their home prices relative to similar homes in the area.  Really incredible when great minds work together for the good of their local communities.