Produced by Faith, Prompted by Love, Inspired by Hope

John, Pat, Kim and I braved the red alert heatwave warning to attend the annual regional CAP United conference in Northampton on Wednesday. Due to the hot temperatures, some of the programme had to be cut but it was still inspiring to worship together with Debt Coaches, Money Coaches, Job Club Managers, Life Skills Coaches, Church Leaders, Befrienders, Support staff and many more from across the Midlands and East region.

Talks from CAP founder John Kirkby and CEO Stewart McCulloch helped the celebration of 30 years of CAP, the need for CAP now and how to take it forward into the future. The tag line for the day "Produced by Faith, Prompted by Love, Inspired by Hope" is taken from 1 Thessalonians 1:13:

3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is what sets Christians Against Poverty apart as a debt help charity - that it is practical help, produced by faith and delivered with love. Hope can be a hard thing to see when you are suffering with debt and poverty, physical or mental health issues, loneliness, isolation and many more of the issues that are faced by our CAP clients alongside poverty and debt. But faith inspires hope and by sharing faith we can share hope. Suffering may not be ended by faith, but hope equips us to grow and move through suffering. By sharing Hope through Faith, CAP debt coaches bring so much more to their clients than practical debt help.

Romans 5: 1 - 5 (NIV)

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

This faith is collaborative, not something to be hoarded by an individual, but a gift to share and grow. Nearly 1000 churches partner with CAP as part of their community outreach, acting as a light into their communities, not just for those who go to church but for all and anyone. 25% of adults say that they or a friend or relative has been helped by a church in the last five years - this is a light that has been seen and acknowledged.

And it is not just through partnerships with churches that CAP reached out into community, but through social action, partnerships with lending organisations, and the recent combining of CAP with CMA (Community Money Advice). At a local level, Ely and District CAP partners with the JobCentre, social prescribers and more to help collaboratively and holistically reach those in our local community who need help.

Luke 5: 1 - 7 (NIV)

5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

Christians Against Poverty is a movement created in response to a present need, inspired by Hope to bring Hope to those who feel hopeless, working collaboratively to help meet their needs and therefore working to continue the Biblical mandate from the Old Testament, embodied in Christ and continued by the work of those building the Kingdom today.

Luke 4: 16 - 21 (NIV)

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

This work is the heart and centre of Jesus' love and He works through us to continue this work today, continually and collaboratively and CAP is a part of this Kingdom Work. Like Peter, we may be surprised at what Jesus asks us to do, that it seems impossible, but he had the faith to put the nets down because Jesus asked so we should have that faith too, we may not see the huge haul of fish that results, but we can know the assurance that even the smallest actions made in faith in the Name of Jesus can make a big difference.

2 Corinthians 1: 3 - 5 (MSG)

3-5 All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

Ephesians 3: 20 - 21 (NIV)

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Prayer

Please pray for all those who have dedicated so much time, skills and resources to building up the service that CAP can bring to those who are living in the darkness of debt. Pray for the head office team in Bradford, the continuing development of new systems and the partnership with CMA, that all these things will help strengthen and equip CAP to face the continuing need in our communities.

Give thanks for all those who have become debt free recently, for the release from the burden of debt and for the support that they have for the future through the love and faith of the CAP teams. Pray for those waiting for their debt solution to come through, pray for those waiting for their first visit and pray especially for those who do not know where to turn to for help, that they would hear about CAP and have the strength to reach out for help.

Pray for our debt coaches, John, Pat and Kim, our befrienders and supporters. Thank you for the time, skills, patience, faith and love that they bring to help Ely and District CAP bring hope to those in need in our community. Pray for the work of our Community Links Coordinator, Fiona in building collaborative relationships with other service providers and helping spread the news of the help that CAP can bring.

Next Prayer Meeting

The next prayer meeting will be Wednesday 1st July 7pm at the Countess Church. This is a great opportunity to meet together, share CAP news, catch up and pray together for the work of Ely and District CAP. Please do come along and bring along any friends who may be interested in finding out more about Ely and District CAP.