The work of CAP is Kingdom work. In God's kingdom there is no debt, there is no money or need and by helping lift the burden of debt for our clients, Ely and District CAP is helping to bring the Kingdom here in Ely and the surrounding villages, helping people to come to know the love of Jesus in their lives and the support and strength that comes from being able to see the work of the Kingdom in our lives, here and now.
Luke 10: 1 - 9 (NIV)
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
When Jesus sends out the disciples, he sends them out with no material goods to satisfy their needs, but instead to seek out people of peace and stay with them accepting their hospitality and provision. They are told to eat and drink and heal the sick first, then to tell them of the Kingdom of God. Jesus wants them to build a relationship through hospitality and welcome and then build on that by telling them about the Kingdom.
This is very much like the work of CAP, our debt coaches and visit team are welcomed into the houses of our clients and alongside the practicalities of the journey out of debt, the information gathering and form filling, there is the building of a relationship through welcome and hospitality and friendship through the support of the visit team and if welcomed, the support of prayer and the sharing of the Kingdom.
Some clients are more open than others and for some it can be a huge thing to reach out for help, to invite someone into their house and to share their problems. But as Jesus instructed His disciples, our team can be open to meeting clients who are people of peace, who can provide something that may not be expected, who with the easing of the burden of debt can be enabled to flourish, to rediscover and enjoy the gifts that they have from God.
The work of CAP is Kingdom work, it puts hospitality and welcome at the heart of the journey out of debt and helps people of peace to flourish through care and support and the knowledge of God's love in their lives.
In today’s challenging economic climate, more and more UK households are struggling to make ends meet. The reality of deficit budgets – where income falls short of covering essential living costs – is a growing crisis that affects millions of people across the UK. CAP's latest briefing paper ‘Deficit budgets: The cost to stay alive’ explores the severe consequences of deficit budgets in households across the UK and pushes for urgent systemic change. You can read the report via the CAP website:
S is an Ely and District CAP client. S suffers from depression and it can often be a struggle to leave the house. Inviting anyone in can be as difficult as she doesn't want anyone to know her problems and is worried about the state of her house. S doesn't have, or want to use a computer and rarely uses her phone so is very isolated. S took the big step of inviting the Ely and District CAP team into her home and one thing they found was that she has a negative budget, the amount of money coming in cannot meet her basic expenses even if the debt is removed. There are ways that S can maximise her income, but she needs support from the team to help with this as many forms are online or involve long phone calls.
This is why the team at Ely and Distrcit CAP want to introduce Income Maximisation, to help clients like S. Some may be able to make the calls or fill in the forms themselves when pointed in the right direction, but others like S may need someone alongside them. And this could be a help for others struggling on low incomes in our communities as well, maybe through a drop in service at church Open Spaces.
Please pray for the team as they begin to put ideas into reality to help our clients into a more sustainable and financially secure future, and one that it upheld by love and support and the knowledge of God's love in their lives.
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