Thanks to Sandra Snell for sharing details of this new scheme. Ed
Two congregations are so concerned with the financial worries of their local communities they have decided to partner with a charity to offer debt counselling.
Members of Kings Church, Elm Grove, Portsmouth and King’s Church, Fort St, Sandown (previously New Hope Christian Fellowship) wanted to better serve people feeling the sharp end of the ongoing credit crunch.
So, they got in touch with UK debt counselling charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) and plan to offer the new, free service from November.
Helping people escape that debt trap
Church leader Gareth Benton said: “Money worries are among the worst because often people feel they are to blame for their debts getting out of control and so they struggle on rather than seeking help. This can make people feel very isolated, giving them sleepless nights and making them fearful of the phone and post.
“Sometimes those people have made mistakes – and haven’t we all – but very often they have been driven into debt by suffering from one or two of life’s unexpected happenings like redundancy, relationship breakdown or coping with illness in the family.
“We are now in the process of putting key members of our church through training with CAP to offer a face-to-face, tried-and-tested professional service which will see people escape that debt trap and get their lives back on track.”
205 church-based debt help centres across the UK
CAP has more than 205 church-based debt help centres across the UK offering an award-winning free service to people regardless of their age, gender, background or faith.
This Autumn the charity looks set to open new centres in regions around the UK in its campaign to help as many people as possible.
Image: Vectorportal under CC BY 2.0
