Here's What We Do

Our mission is simple. Christians helping those in need through the local church.

We recruit and work with church groups throughout the U.S. and Canada who come and build homes for poor families as part of a cross-cultural mission experience. The groups provide the money, Casas por Cristo, in turn makes sure the materials are ready when the group arrives. Groups provide the manpower, Casas por Cristo provides the on-site supervision.

We Work Through the Local Church

There is a shortage of 40,000 homes for low-income families in Juarez. In order to find the most needy families, Casas por Cristo relies on our Juarez Pastors Committee, church leaders who live and serve churches in the poorest communities. Our program works through the local Juarez churches. Groups normally sleep in the church of a sponsoring pastor. Casas por Cristo teams are an arm of the local church in Juarez.

We Believe in a Personal Touch

In most cases your team will be sleeping in a church near your construction project. You will have a chance to worship and witness with Mexican Christians. Casas por Cristo will have a staff member or trained adult volunteer assigned to your team. They will meet you in El Paso, escort you across the border, stay with you in Juarez, and provide experienced supervision at the work site.

Casas por Cristo understands the importance of personal attention to your short-term mission team. We know the impact it will have on your church or group:

85% of all career missionaries first became interested in missions through a short-term experience,
40% of all youth remain involved in missions after a short-term missions trip, and
25% of all adults remain involved in missions after a short-term missions trip.

We're Located on the Mexican Border

El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico are separated only by the Rio Grande. A combined population of two million people make this the largest city in the world on an international border. Yet, much of Juarez is typical of Third World living conditions.

El Paso/Juarez is easy to reach. It is only:

434 miles from Phoenix,
624 from Denver,
633 from Dallas,
691 from Oklahoma City,
931 from Kansas City.

We Have a Project for Your Team

Our ministry to the poor operates year round. It is designed for teams of all ages, skills and sizes. You start the process by taking two easy steps:

Call for available dates.
Select the project fitting your team.
- Single family house, $2,500
- Large family or church, $4,100

Project fees cover building materials, administration costs, and a unique Casas por Cristo T-shirt.

Team size for a single should be at least 12 members. For larger projects, there should be between 18-25 team members. In each case, the exact number will depend on ages and skill levels.

Who We Are

Casas por Cristo is a non-denominational ministry that was started in 1993 in response to the need for a self-contained mission work experience in a cross-cultural environment for teams of all ages. Dedicated to meeting both the spiritual and physical needs of the poor in Mexico in the name of Jesus Christ. Casas por Cristo works along the U.S. border in partnership with Juarez churches.

Housing is the number on need along the border. Working through the Juarez Pastors Committee, Casas por Cristo teams build homes for families who typuically had been living in cardboard or tarpaper shacks with diret floorts. Because the pastors are responsible fot the screening and selection of the families, the projects become an outreach of the local church.

The excellence and quality of our program received national recognition when Casas por Cristo was selected from among 700 organizations as one of 12 non-profit agencies to be featured the first year of the nationally broadcast Public Broadcasting System (PBS) television series, "The Visionaries."

Helping More Than Just Those In Need of Housing

Enjoy this Casas Por Cristo pictoral guide to building a home by Rodney Karr.

If you know of other Casas Por Cristo stories, please send e-mail so they, too, can be added here.