learn about our history
About Us
About
Fort Bend
Family Promise
The problem is so well-hidden that people often are shocked to learn about the growing number of homeless families in Fort Bend County. Based on a University of Texas study, there are between 6,000 and 9,000 homeless in Fort Bend in any given year, and nearly half are children seeking shelter with their families.
Housing, healthcare and other costs are soaring, and many low income families are just a paycheck away from losing their homes. Common causes of episodic homelessness are job loss, illness, injury, foreclosure, divorce and natural disaster.
Many people think of homelessness as “someone else’s problem,” but it carries both a financial and societal cost to everyone in a community. FBFP mobilizes an interfaith network of local congregations to help families regain their housing, their independence and their dignity. Utilizing existing church facilities, our committed volunteers provide safe overnight shelter, meals and support for a week at a time.
Our Housing Navigator helps each family develop an individualized plan to attain safe, affordable housing and develop the confidence and skills they need to achieve long-term independence.
FBFP also assists hundreds of other individuals each year through referrals and partnerships with other local social service agencies and resources. Together, we are providing cost effective solutions to complex problems.
The mission of Fort Bend Family Promise is to meet the immediate needs of families experiencing temporary housing insecurity while empowering them to regain self-sufficiency.
Our Mission
Our Vision
We foresee an informed collaborative community where we meet the temporary needs of families throughout Fort Bend County experiencing housing insecurity by equipping them with sustainable living options.
All housing families with Housing Insecurities in Fort Bend County that meet program criteria have access to the services of Fort Bend Family Promise.
All Family Guests have immediate needs met upon entering the program.
The public of Fort Bend County effectively refers families in crisis to Fort Bend Family Promise and supports the program.
All Family Guests are effectively evaluated and presented with an individualized program that helps prepare them for self-sufficiency.
All Family Guests effectively apply the skills and/or knowledge from the program to be successfully self-sufficient upon completion.
Ongoing relationships with organizations (public & private, profit & non-profit) in Fort Bend County allow Fort Bend Family Promise to achieve its mission in a cost effective manner.
The public in Fort Bend County is well-informed about the facts and realities of Housing Insecurities in our service area.
Outcome Statements
"It was a great concept in my mind -- to organize faith-based groups to help the homeless without large expenditures of public (tax) funds."
Duane McCullough
remember the past
Our History
Our Story: From Curious Ad to Life-Changing Mission
In 2003, FBFP founder Duane McCullough retired from Paine Webber/UBS and faced a new question: “What’s next?”
A random newspaper ad caught his eye, and in his words:
“To this day, I have no idea why I was looking in that section of the paper!”
That serendipitous ad connected him with VISTA—America’s version of the Domestic Peace Corps, born of John F. Kennedy’s anti-poverty vision. VISTA veterans have launched programs like Head Start and Upward Bound.
Duane’s mission: build Interfaith Hospitality Network chapters in South Texas. His passion soared:
“To organize faith-based groups to help the homeless without large expenditures of public funds—it was a great concept.”
Turning Vision into Action
From Baytown to Corpus Christi, Duane spread the word. His home base—Sugar Land—became the launchpad.
Pastors and lay volunteers answered the call. By late 2003, seven congregations had committed to host families and visited successful chapters in Conroe and northwest Houston.
Building the Foundation
No easy feat—fundraising lagged, awareness lagged. But a spark lit when New Hope Lutheran Church donated space, providing a home base. A donated used Ford Windstar van from the Brown family of New Hope solved transportation challenges.
With backing from East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry, FBFP launched officially on Valentine’s Day 2005, achieving 501(c)(3) status (.
From Modest Roots to a Thriving Mission
By 2006, FBFP became independent. Fueled by congregations, The George Foundation, golfers, and prayers, the mission blossomed beyond early hopes.
The Founding Congregations
Hosting Congregations (first seven):
New Hope Lutheran Church – Missouri City
Southminster Presbyterian Church – Missouri City
First Presbyterian Church – Sugar Land
First Presbyterian Church – Rosenberg
First United Methodist Church – Missouri City
First United Methodist Church – Sugar Land
Christ United Methodist Church – Sugar Land
Supporting Congregations (initial backers):
Colony Creek Community Church
Congregation Beth El
Thoreau United Universalist
St. Laurence Catholic Church
Today: A Force for Change in Fort Bend
Since 2005, FBFP has supported hundreds of families—offering shelter, meals, and hope. This legacy of compassion and faith continues to light the path forward.
Why This Matters
It all began with a whimsical newspaper glance and one man’s sense of purpose.
Fueled by faith, generosity, and community, it sparked a movement.
Since its founding, hundreds of families have reclaimed stability and dignity.
Let’s carry this story forward. Our history isn’t just a memory—it’s a foundation for future impact.
We Will Help You Every Step Of The Way
Fort Bend Family Promise provides shelter, meals and comprehensive support to families without homes.
Are we right for you?
Need Help?
Is your family – or someone you know — facing a housing crisis due to a foreclosure, loss of lease or other causes? If so, Fort Bend Family Promise may be able to help. In trying to determine if our program is right for you, consider that FBFP is designed to help:
Adults with children under age 18.
Fort Bend County residents.
Families capable of participating in a family environment supervised by volunteers.
FBFP accepts families regardless of race or religion.
Guidelines for Admission:
Completion of criminal background screen
No chemical dependencies
No untreated mental health issues
No active domestic violence
Must pose no threat to other Family Promise families or volunteers
Must be willing to follow Family Promise Client Guidelines
Families may call for an assessment appointment during regular business hours. There is no fee for services. The Day Center is located at 4645 Cartwright Road in Missouri City and is open daily from 6 am to 7 pm. If you have questions, please contact us at 281-403-3293.
School District Links
Students in Fort Bend experiencing homelessness may also find assistance through their school district. Here are links to the appropriate page on Fort Bend School District websites.
Church Network
FBFP is people of faith working together to provide homeless families with HELP for today and HOPE for tomorrow. FBFP mobilizes churches in Fort Bend County to host families after the Day Center closes for the evening. We welcome all types of congregations to join our church network because we can all agree that children in our community should not have to worry about where they will sleep each night.
While at the churches, families are provided with an evening meal and a room with beds and bedding. Volunteers from the congregation share dinner with the families and provide overnight, on-site support with a spirit of warmth and hospitality.
In this environment, clients are able to maintain their dignity and privacy as the church becomes their temporary home. The kindness from these congregations helps diminish the hurt of homelessness in an environment where both volunteers and clients can grow and learn from one another.
Host Congregations
Hosting rotates weekly among our host congregations. Once a quarter (four times each year), each host congregation provides overnight housing, dinner and hospitality to homeless children and their families.
Host congregations must have enough space to host three to four separate families — up to fourteen people — at a time. FBFP provides inflatable beds, with most congregations setting up their educational or activity rooms as temporary bedrooms for each of the guest families. Showers and laundry facilities are available at our Family Day Center, so it’s not necessary for congregations to have these amenities.
FBFP has a van and driver to transport guest families to and from the Day Center and hosting congregation. Families depart about 5:30 am to return to the Day Center so children can catch the school bus and parents go to their jobs or work with the case manager to find jobs and housing. Guest families stay with Family Promise until they find permanent housing as long as they follow the guidelines of program, with families currently staying an average of about 35 days.
FBFP does not accept guest families actively using illegal substances or with felony convictions or serious mental illness, and all guest families receive a criminal background check.
Get Involved
Support Congregations
Contact us
Current Host Congregations
- All Saints Episcopal – Stafford
- Body of Faith Church – Stafford
- Christ Church – Sugar Land
- First Presbyterian Sugar Land – Sugar Land
- First United Methodist Church – Missouri City
- Friendship Community Bible Church – Sugar Land
- New Hope Lutheran Church – Missouri City
- Parkway United Methodist Church – Sugar Land
- Southminster Presbyterian – Missouri City
- St. Martin’s Lutheran Church – Sugar Land
- Sugar Creek Baptist Church
- The Harvest United Methodist Church
Current Supporting Congregations
Our Donors
Fort Bend Family Promise is funded through the generosity of individual donors, church congregations, foundations and local businesses. We are a part of the National Family Promise Organization.
We would like to extend special thanks to the following for their financial support:
Albert & Ethel Hersztein Charitable Foundation
The Baxter Trust
The Bridge Fellowship Church
The Children’s Fund
Chipotle – Sugar Land
Constellation Community Champions
NALCO Champion – an Ecolab Company
Egbert Family Foundation
El Pollo Loco
Fort Bend Cares
Fort Bend Family Promise Coffee Club Members
Fort Bend Family Promise Host & Support Congregations
Fort Bend Junior Service League
The George Foundation
Greater Houston Builders Association/HomeAid Houston
Gulf Coast Medical Foundation
Help Us Move In (HUMI)
Henderson-Wessendorf Foundation
Hildebrand Foundation
Houston Endowment Inc.
Houston Tidelanders Chorus
Keller Williams Southwest
National Christian Foundation Houston
Niagra Bottling
Tri-City Women’s Club
Woodforest Charitable Foundation
Board of Trustees
Members of our Board of Trustees are selected from our local community and serve staggered terms of three years. Our Board provides a broad range of expertise that has been critical to our organization’s success, but each brings a personal commitment to helping homeless families.
Jim Uschkrat
Jim Uschkrat
Kirby Bledsoe
Kirby Bledsoe
Learn All About Our Staff & Board
Meet Our Staff
Financials
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Board and Executive Director of Fort Bend Family Promise holds our responsibility to our donors, supporters, volunteers, churches, guests and community as critical to our mission.
It is our goal to provide transparency in our governance and operations, while respecting the privacy of our guests and of those donors and volunteers who request it.
