Location & Transportation

We are located right off of College View Drive - about 1 mile from Bethel Church and prayer chapel, 4 miles from the Civic Auditorium, and 2-to-2.5 miles from the area’s main stores and mall. The houses are located right next to a very large and beautiful forking trail through the wilderness that’s great for walks, bike rides, etc. The trail is huge; we’ve walked on different paths for years and still haven’t come close to walking them all.
We usually have multiple BSSM First, Second, and Third-Year students living in the homes at any given time. Carpooling to school is almost always an option in these scenarios. Similarly, many of the guys enjoy doing things together, like grocery shopping or going out to eat. Of course, the number of tenants who have vehicles varies from year to year, so we recommend at least getting a bike. There’s a Redding bus stop at the entrance of our neighborhood, as well.
Each driveway fits 2-3 cars, with multiple spots available by the curb in front of each house. If more parking is needed for guests/events/tenants, there’s ample parking on the same block of each house that does not belong to any neighbors.
The JoyHomes are tucked into a well-kept, purely residential, quiet neighborhood away from busy streets. There’s only one entrance into the neighborhood, so there’s no through-traffic. We are on the more residential side of Redding with its newer grocery stores, as opposed to the older downtown area on the other side of the river.

Finances & the Application Process

It’s incredibly important to Michael to seek God's confirmation with regard to who should be living in the JoyHomes each season, and he doesn’t take that lightly :) It’s his heart’s desire to remain sensitive to Jesus’ promptings and make sure that everyone ends up exactly where He wants them each time, whether that’s here or somewhere else. Through a lot of prayer and consideration of everyone’s desires during the application process, and especially asking God about His plans for each coming year, Michael simply prays, and asks God to show him the face of who should be in each room.
For instance, a few years back, all three of the First Years who moved into one of the houses ended up in the exact same BSSM Revival Group after the fact (out of dozens), and that recently happened again, on two separate occasions, for two separate pairs of roommates sharing the same rooms - God knows what’s up :) Because of this, response times vary - but you are free to let us know a date that you need to know by. Whether you are accepted or not, the open-door policy still stands, and we would love to meet you :) Sometimes it’s simply that the timing (or room/house/roommate) wasn’t right, and we may still consider you in the future.
Yes :D It’s not required, but we do offer discounts to tenants who serve in leadership roles within our community (such as the pastoral/ministry team, media team, party planners, etc.). There are currently 14 official leadership positions, and some tenants even choose to serve in two roles simultaneously. Usually, Michael offers these roles to people who’ve lived in the community for a while, first, but feel free to let us know if you are interested in any. We also provide the space for individuals to create and pursue their own leadership roles and projects if it makes them come alive (such as starting a swing-dancing club, podcast, homegroup, breakdancing class, etc.)! Our rule is simple: Don’t lead anything unless you’d have fun doing it :)
Even though it’s more work on his end, Michael has decided to utilize month-to-month housing agreements, rather than locking people into prolonged leases. The reason being: We don’t believe it’s healthy to force anyone to live here for longer than they’d like to stay - it’s not productive for the tenant in question, or their housemates. Our heart is to create a community so strong that everyone actively CHOOSES to stay here every month; we don’t think it’s beneficial to force anyone to do that.
Because utility costs are unpredictable and fluctuate, utilities are paid separate from rent.
We’ve moved the houses toward becoming as utility-efficient as possible, without sacrificing comfort. As an example, we have: converted all lighting to LED, installed modern water heaters that utilize less gas (but provide more hot water), installed extra insulation in the walls and attics for more efficient A/C and heating, redid the roofing, installed top-of-the-line toilets that use less water (but are nearly un-cloggable), and, in the future, we plan to install solar panels on the roofs. We often opt to set the A/C to something comfortable and pay a little extra for things like high-speed internet (we’ve got the fastest plan that Spectrum offers), rather than trying to penny-pinch in those departments.

The Community

To answer that, we recommend watching our “JoyHome Vision” video - it will answer that question better than any wall of text could :)
Eventually, a giant warehouse will be constructed, surrounded by a handful of JoyHomes: One of the levels will be utilized as a House of Prayer and the others will serve as a collaborative space for creatives to cooperate on fun projects they’ve dreamed up together (mirrors on the walls for dancers, green screens for filmmakers and actors, a sound studio for music videos and production, a pull-out stage for house-church and improv, equipment for hosting YouTube cooking channels and sketch comedy, etc.).
The JoyHomes surrounding it will continue to house laid-down lovers of Jesus, who are passionate about teamwork and the arts (media/performing/creative/culinary/linguistic/visual, etc.). The warehouse will also continue to host the events we’re already known for, to publish online, helping everyone to get paid for having fun (strap Go-Pro’s onto our heads and have a Nerf-war, start a tabletop gaming channel, stream concerts, film games of murder-in the-dark in night vision, etc.).
God has deposited a multitude of incredible dreams in the hearts of the creatives who come through Redding each year. So many of those same creatives long for the space and tools to embark on those dreams, and genuine, Jesus-inspired individuals to run alongside. Big dreams only feel overwhelming when we believe that we have to accomplish them alone. Run with God, and partner with others to preach the gospel how you were made to. That - is the vision. Our heart is for the world to see what God-given joy, healthy community, inspired creativity, and yielded hearts truly look like.
While many opportunities for both discipleship and mentorship exist in the JoyHomes, they are purely optional and not required. Some of our tenants are actively looking for those things, while others don’t feel called to them in this season of their lives. Whichever camp you find yourself in right now, we embrace both. If all you’re looking for is a place where friends just want to do life with each other, passionately pursue God together, and have fun all along the way, then this community will likely be a good fit for you, regardless :)
Young-adult men that are passionately in love with Jesus, who also share a huge value for people, fun, joy, and brotherhood! We have a mix of American and international students/alumni from BSSM, Bethel Conservatory of the Arts, and Bethel Tech, as well as guys who work for Bethel Media, etc. Many of us also share a passion for creativity (authors, painters, screenwriters, sculptors, photographers, game/web/graphic designers, etc.)., but that’s not a requirement to live here (see: “Where Are the JoyHomes Headed?” for more info on creativity).
Cleanliness is a big priority. Your bedroom can be as messy as you want, but outside of your bedroom, cleanliness is expected; specifically because we went to be able to invite friends over at the drop of a hat. We believe that cleanliness a huge part of hospitality; that it’s a way of showing respect and love to each other and guests through our intentional actions. We have a bin for lost-and-found items, a mail organizer for everyone in the house, and everyone is given their own personal storage spaces, listed in one of the questions below.
We typically host one large event open to our larger community of guests per month, and one big event exclusive to the JoyHome tenants per month. One is more pastoral in nature (worship nights with a full band, intercession gatherings, guest speakers, optional outreach/missions/serving, etc.), and the other is more like a party (capture-the-flag, going to a trampoline park, playing Jackbox, etc.). The other 28 days or so, you can expect to see, on average, anywhere from 0-3 friends over in the living room at any given time, in addition to housemates :) In other words, there’s a pretty good chance someone might be building a pillow fort when you walk in the door :P Inviting friends over is definitely encouraged and a huge aspect of our community; Hopefully over food ;) There’s nothing quite like picnics, breakfast for dinner, root beer floats, chicken & waffles, or roasting marshmallows around fire!

The Houses

Each JoyHome is nearly 1800 sq. ft., not including the yards. All houses are the exact same model, with almost identical furnishings, although each garage has been renovated to serve a different purpose. These property photos and these bedroom photos should give you a good idea of what to expect and what you’d have access to, no matter which house you apply for. There are 5 bedrooms (3 single rooms and 2 shared by two roommates each). There are 2 bathrooms, both with Squatty Potties, because that’s how we roll :) The living room furniture can be easily moved around for any purpose (family dinners, art galleries featuring pieces by our community and friends, etc.).
Every tenant is provided with a Twin XL mattress, mattress cover, and an extra-tall 18-inch bedframe that allows for extensive storage underneath (we have optional 17-inch bins that fit perfectly underneath). You DO need to bring your own blankets and pillow, though. Each tenant is also provided a personal desk (with modular shelving for heavy storage above and below it), a desk chair, a dresser, and a small trash can. Every tenant has their own designated kitchen shelving and bin, as well as their own personal shelving space in the refrigerators. Special care has been taken to install and set aside various other storage options for everyone, including spaces like: extended pantry shelves, laundry detergent shelving, shoe racks, bathroom drawers/cabinets/shelves, and enough bath towel bars for each resident to have their own personal bar. Residents can store their bikes on their backyard patio.
Gardeners take care of our yards. The yards all serve different purposes: One is for spacious activities and outdoor hangouts requiring a lot of chairs and tables, one has a fire pit and hammocks, one is catered to more scenic hangouts, and one has flat/open green grass for lawn sports like Spikeball, bocce ball, cornhole, and croquet. Every tenant has access to all of them.
The houses are furnished with most everything you would expect, including high-speed gaming routers, appliances, full sound systems, Xbox Series X or S’s with 4 controllers each, BBQs, 2 refrigerators, 55-inch 40k HDR TVs, entertainment centers, etc. We split things like Netflix, Hulu, Disney, Prime Video, and Xbox Live 21 ways. We share a constantly growing Amazon library of purchased films. Between the couches, beanbags (one is 8 feet wide with extra filling :D), bar stools, outdoor chairs, and folding chairs, we have more than enough seating to accommodate large gatherings like ice cream socials and Napoleon Dynamite Quesadilla nights ;) We have a lot of items for hosting events, such as folding tables, PA systems and microphones, disco/stage lights, fog machines, and Bluetooth boomboxes. We opt to clean our own dishes rather than delegate that task to others via a dishwasher. An exhaustive list of all furnishings would be too long to note, so if you have further questions, feel free to contact us :)
The houses have undergone major of renovations, complete with everything from dimmer switches to super-powerful and efficient bathroom fans :) From installing new electrical wiring, light fixtures, and pipes throughout the houses, to repainting their full interiors, to installing garage sinks and heavy-duty blinds on the windows - almost every aspect of these houses have been updated since they were purchased (in 2015, 2017, and 2019). Did we mention that the faucets light up with water-powered LEDs? :D :D :D As you live here, you can fully expect this trend of upgrades to continue.