United

On Wednesday the team went to the CAP United Midlands and East conference in Peterborough. This was an opportunity to worship together, celebrate what God has been doing and connect with CAP staff, debt coaches, money coaches, church leaders, befrienders and supporters from across the region.

The central theme of the conference this year was Boldness, reflecting the need for boldness to carry out God's work and in facing head on the causes and consequences of poverty and debt in our society.

The following is my summary of CAP CEO Stewart McCulloch's inspiring talk.

Boldness - From Jesus - For the Mission

Why is boldness needed?

Helping the needy has been a central part of Christian Mission from the start, seen in Jesus' ministry and in the early church. Paul expressed his calling as preaching the gospel to the gentiles and helping the poor:

10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. Galatians 2:10 (NIV).

Recent social shifts, many a result of the Covid pandemic, have increased the complexity of poverty in the UK and recent welfare reforms will continue to increase the impact. Policy often sees the figures but doesn't see the complexity of individual cases or address the root causes. But through the CAP 2025 Client Report, these can be brought into public awareness.

49% of CAP clients considered suicide

59% borrowed money to buy food

63% struggled to buy a mattress or cooker due to debt

89% lost sleep worrying about debt

And these statistics are reflected in the whole UK population, with 1/3rd of adults in the UK loosing sleep over financial worries and levels of mental health issues and anxiety at high levels. Society is out of balance, there is No Time to Lose to tackle UK poverty, with CAP working to be the positive voice of God's love to inspire social action and loving support.

What is Biblical Boldness?

In the Bible, boldness is about transformation and renewal, looking ahead and taking a leap of faith despite the challenges. Several distinct words for boldness can be found in the Old and New Testaments.

Amits - being bold and courageous:

6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

Chazaq - physically or spiritually strong or firm:

6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Joshua 1:6 (NIV)

Parrhesia - freedom of speech or openness, the courage to declare the Gospel:

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 (NIV)

This boldness flows from Jesus to enable mission:

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” 2 Corinthians 8: 9, 13 - 25 (NIV)

This boldness, the grace that we receive, is abundant. It flows into us and flows onward to others through us. It is not something that can be hoarded and stored for personal use, but something shared, an active gift to be passed on. And it is a team game:

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. (Luke 10: 1-2 (NIV)

How does this boldness shape the mission of CAP?

CAP speciallises in face-to-face, one-to-one debt help in clients own homes, not just helping with debt but with the whole journey. With increasingly complex causes of poverty, low and negative incomes and increased expenses, this is vital to help tackle the root causes of poverty rather than just debt itself. Pre-Covid, most CAP clients became debt free through payment plans, which help build financial resilience and a knowledge of budgeting, but now this is reversed with the majority of clients needing insolvency, which writes off debt but without that resilience which needs to be built up through a continuation of support beyond debt freedom and through knowledge building such as money coaching. A new strategy is needed for a new society, boldness to help each client's individual circumstances - no one size fits all - and a call to highlight these individual needs to shape society and government policy. To help with this, CAP head office is shifting to regionally focused teams working with local debt centres to help provide more targeted support and care within individual communities and build a strong team who can work together in the power of the Spirit, part of the flow of God's abundant love.

Prayer

Please pray for all our Ely and District CAP Clients, pray that the message of God's love brought to them by the CAP debt coaches and visit team will give them the strength to get through difficult times and for that love to flow onwards to inspire and support others in need.

Please pray for our debt coaches, John and Pat, and for the befrienders, for boldenss in sharing the love of God with our clients, for the prayer and support that they offer alongside the journey out of debt.

Please pray for CAP head office, for the changes in structure and strategy that will help build a stronger and more resilient team who can provide individual support and raise awareness of the complex causes and suffering caused by poverty and debt in our society.