The initiative will provide 40 new homes to Rochester families
Northeastern Seminary faculty member, Rev. Dr. Fred Johnson appeared on News 10 NBC's "Rochester in Focus" promoting the new housing development initiative led by his church First Genesis Baptist Church where he is the lead pastor.
In partnership with the City of Rochester, the church is leading an initiative to provide 40 homes to residents of Rochester. In his interview, Dr. Johnson says, “We really need to do something that's transformational, intergenerational and that will impact families and there's a need for housing.”
According to Dr. Johnson, they are expecting to break ground on the project in 2024. The 40, single-family homes will be available for first-time home ownership and not rental. The project will also include a 92-unit senior apartment complex.
More about the Buy the Block project can be found here.
Dr. Johnson has participated in every facet of church ministry with a passion for evangelism, teaching, preaching, and community building. He earned a Doctor of Ministry (2007) and his Masters of Divinity (2001) from Northeastern Seminary and his MBA (1994) from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Dr. Johnson has years of experience in developing and leading non-profit and charity organizations with a focus on community development. His expertise in this area grew out of his first career of more than 20 years in the private sector working for multinational corporations.
Dr. Johnson is also the program director for Northeastern Seminary’s Field Education program and Black Church Studies Advanced Certificate.
In a recent episode of Northeastern Seminary’s Podcast entitled, “Strategic Consideration: Connecting Churches With Their Communities,” Johnson shared about church partnering with the community in their contexts.
The podcast episode offers tools for engagement that are easily transferable to urban, suburban, or rural settings to connect churches with their surrounding neighbors. Listen below and find more here.