New service to help church leaders in debt

Many church leaders, who suffer with personal finance problems, do so in silence. That is why two leading Christian charities have joined forces to launch a specialised service for church leaders experiencing spiralling personal debt.

Christians Against Poverty and Stewardship have set up ‘CAP Money Ministers’, a free and confidential telephone service for senior church leaders to find a way forward.

CAP’s Chief Executive, Matt Barlow, explained: “We know there is a problem, because we already have church leaders coming to us as clients. They are often paid very little, or their pay can fluctuate. Often there are unfair expectations placed upon our church leaders, and admitting any vulnerability can be so hard.”

CAP and Stewardship’s ambition for CAP Money Ministers is to see senior church leaders encouraged to share their anxieties, however bad, with a dedicated member of CAP’s debt counselling team.

One church pastor contacted CAP after unexpected expenses left him in debt, and caused him to take out credit to pay for essentials. He said, “Being in debt is a massive taboo subject, especially for a church leader. The great thing that CAP did for us was to give us hope: hope that we could sort out the debt; hope that it wouldn’t last forever. We have also found that we are better equipped to help people in the church who have financial problems. We truly can
say, ‘We’ve been there – we know how you feel’.”

For more details and information, visit www.capmoney.org/ministers or phone 01274 760780