Sojourn Montrose

Sojourn Montrose is a church in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood committed to long-term presence and service within its local community. After an extended search for a permanent gathering space, the church partnered with an Arizona-based architect to find and reimagine a building that could support its mission.

The team discovered a modest 1960s-era church building—worn, water-damaged, and steeped in an intense 1980s aesthetic—but still held together by a small, devoted congregation. Historically, it had served marginalized communities as one of the few African American churches in Houston. After a destructive fire in the early 1960s, the congregation rebuilt and continued to meet for decades. Though approached repeatedly by housing developers, the church refused to sell to private interests, instead holding out for another congregation that would continue its legacy of service.

Sojourn acquired the 4,000-square-foot property in 2023 with a $400,000 renovation budget. The architectural strategy focused on adaptive reuse through subtraction—removing partitions and dated finishes to reveal the underlying spatial character. The original wood trusses in the sanctuary were exposed, celebrating the rhythm and warmth of the structure. The revised floor plan improved circulation and accessibility, added bathrooms, and introduced a children’s space. All windows and doors were replaced for enhanced thermal performance and daylighting, using a custom window system designed in collaboration with local fabricators.

Outside, the northern portion of the site—eligible for parking—was instead transformed into a green entry garden, protected under historic code allowances. This open space functions as a rare void in a dense townhouse district and creates a public threshold into the sanctuary.

The result is an architecture of restraint and care—one that honors the past while renewing the building as a place of welcome, worship, and community for generations to come.