In the summer of 2020, my wife and I, like many others, were finding our worlds shrinking as we quarantined at home. Then a call came out of the blue. Our old college friend needed a place to stay. Did we know of anywhere she could crash for a few months?

Serving as a foreign missions worker in a closed country, our friend faced a novel obstacle: the Covid pandemic had sealed the borders. There could be no return to her ministry location, indefinitely. My wife, Liz, and I looked at each other. We had a spare room. Could we offer it to Hanna?

What would a truly Christian response to America’s housing shortage look like? I have some ideas.