"They have the property, they have the ability to provide the space and the place for these kinds of structures to be built," he said. "Jesus told us to clothe the naked, to provide shelter for the homeless. So here we are doing that in a real tangible way, making sure that our resources are put to good use as part of the ministry for the good of the world."

The plans to build housing on the church's property have hit several roadblocks, including the city's parking regulations. The church envisions putting between 16 and 21 apartments on top of its parking lot, which typically sits mostly empty except for a few hours on Sundays.

But city code includes a formula dictating how many parking spaces a church needs based on square inches of pew space. City officials told Doolittle even without the loss of parking created by the new homes, the church had a parking deficit and would have to conduct a study to quantify its parking use.

For a month, congregants counted all the vacant parking spaces in the church lot and the surrounding neighborhood four times a day. Doolittle said their study determined they had a parking surplus but that city officials still were not satisfied.

"It's been one frustrating meeting after another," Doolittle said.

A few months ago, Clairemont Lutheran Church got help from Tom Theisen and Monica Ball, two housing advocates who had already been putting together a YIGBY initiative. Theisen is a retired attorney and former chair of the Regional Task Force on the Homeless San Diego, and Ball is a real estate agent and board member of UPLIFT San Diego, a faith-based nonprofit.

Theisen said the genesis for YIGBY came from San Diego County Tax Collector Dan McAllister, who had compiled a list of more than 1,100 properties zoned for religious use. Together, they represent more than 2,000 acres of land across the county, much of it also zoned for housing.

"I cannot tell you how many faith communities have come to me and said, 'What can we do to address homelessness?' " said Theisen. "And I have a real hard time telling them to go out, hand out blankets or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or that type of stuff. They're looking for a way to be relevant and to do something that really makes a difference, and building housing really makes a difference."