West End SDA Church host NACA/Community Outreach Festival

What is NACA?

The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America ("NACA") is a non-profit, community advocacy and homeownership organization. NACA’s primary goal is to build strong, healthy neighborhoods in urban and rural areas nationwide through affordable homeownership. NACA has made the dream of homeownership a reality for thousands of working people by counseling them honestly and effectively, enabling even those with poor credit to purchase a home or refinance a predatory loan with far better terms than those provided even in the prime market.

Investing in working people
The NACA homeownership program is our answer to the huge sub prime and predatory lending industry. NACA has conclusively shown that when working people get the benefit of a prime rate loan, they can resolve their financial problems, make their mortgage payments and become prime borrowers. NACA’s track record of helping people who have credit problems become homeowners or refinance out of a predatory loan debunks the myth that high rates and fees are necessary to compensate for their "credit risk."

Started in 1988, NACA has a tremendous track record of successful advocacy against predatory and discriminatory lenders as well as providing the best mortgage program in America with $10 billion in funding commitments. NACA is the largest housing services organization in the country and is rapidly expanding by growing its existing 30+ offices, headquartered in Boston, MA, opening many new offices nationwide, and expanding the services it offers its membership. NACA’s confrontational community organizing and unprecedented mortgage program have set the national standard for assisting low- and moderate-income people to achieve the dream of homeownership.

NACA – America’s Best Mortgage
The incredible NACA mortgage allows NACA Members to purchase or refinance homes with:

  • no down payment,
  • no closing costs,
  • no fees,
  • no requirement for perfect credit,
  • and at a below-market interest rate.

Everyone gets the same incredible terms, including the below-market interest rate, regardless of their credit score or other factors. NACA also provides free, comprehensive housing services. NACA counsels Members into the extraordinary NACA mortgage using character-based lending criteria that takes each Member’s circumstances into account to determine whether they are ready for homeownership and what they can afford. This is in contrast to risk-based pricing where people are often given loans they cannot afford while brokers and others make tremendous fees and profits.

How did we come to host the meeting at our church?

Damien Smith, Singles Ministry Leader, completed the NACA program and purchased a home in Nov. 2004. We started hosting the program in Dec. 2004 because the Lord blessed Damien with a 2.37%, 30 year fixed interest rate and he wanted to bless others. The only problem he saw with the program was that all of the workshops were held on Saturday. After speaking with the Director, who happened to be Damien’s counselor, it was discovered that they had been trying to get the program in an Adventist church. Damien presented the idea to the church board and we started hosting the NACA meetings once a quarter starting December 2004. The months that the meetings are hosted are always the same (March, June, September and December, 2:30pm – 6:30pm. We just hosted our 13th meeting on December 9th. Praise God!

How did this Lead to the Community Outreach Festival?

The Community Outreach Festival was brought about through conflict. Children’s Ministry scheduled a carnival to take place during the September 2007 NACA program. Everything worked out and to God’s glory. The carnival was held outside, the NACA program was held inside, the food ministry gave out food, and the Health Ministry did blood pressure checks. This incident made Pastor Preston and Damien stop and take a hard look at the situation and wonder what would happen if we did this every quarter. We host about 300 to 400 people each quarter at our church. Why not use this already built in tool to help win souls without giving a bible study or talking about the Sabbath, but by just being kind? Jesus met the peoples need then said follow me and we, at West End are doing the same.

How can you get involved?

Contact Damien Smith at singles.ministry@westendsdachurch.org or Lisa Hinson at clerk@westendsdachurch.org to join NACA or to volunteer for the Community Outreach Festival. Also, about a month before each Festival, an announcement will be made at church to also solicit volunteers.

Volunteer opportunities:

  • Elders: Praying for the NACA participants
  • Hostess: Will function as greeters
  • Hospitality: Setting up and serving refreshments to NACA participants and children
  • AYS/Childrens Ministry: Having fun activities for the children
  • Personal Ministries: Help with the passing out of literature
  • Think On These Things Ministries: Coordinating the giving of food to the community as well as NACA participants
  • Medical Ministry: Providing blood pressure screenings, diabetes and cholesterol checks
  • Health Ministry: Providing literature about health, advising people on the next stop smoking, health cooking class.
  • Community Service: Clothes drive and give away