Bradford and Leeds week - Christians Against Poverty

After a day off on Monday, I arose early (well, some time before 9) and went to meet someone from Christians Against Poverty (CAP).  CAP was started in 1996 by John Kirkby with £10 and a lot of faith. John had not long before come to faith, riddled by debt himself, and set out trying to use the skills he had been given during his time working in financial services to see people like himself set free from the bondage of debt and sin. The organisation doesn't hide its faith-base, as their name indicates, and they offer to pray for their clients on the first meeting, plus as a local church supports each centre there is always much support for each person. Many people who come to CAP have contemplated suicide in the past and have nowhere else to turn. They help so many people out of debt and impact so many lives. What I love though is the statistic that on average five people a week become Christians as a result of their work. Five lives changed immeasurably for eternity! Probably more than they bargained for but far greater than they could have ever imagined. Praise God!

Looking around I noticed their list of core values, which make for encouraging reading. As much as I realise it's probably weird to take pictures in an office I couldn't resist (and as I've found them on the internet I assume they're not secret...). It's great to see a company with an ethos so rooted in the Bible. Not only that, but they have such great faith too, with the money required each month looking like it'll fall short, on for it to come through following times of prayer and fasting. This ministry is clearly dedicated to seeking what God wants to happen. Get hold of the book - it's free from the website.

It has been on my heart for quite a while now to see people's material needs met alongside telling them the good news, and to find ways of doing that. CAP is just one expression of that and one that I would like to be involved in at some point in the future, and at the very least is something I draw great inspiration from. May many lives be changed by all that these people do in God's strength.

*****

p.s. If you're going to try and take a covert picture of a building because you're worried that the guys sitting in the dustbin lorry might think you look a bit weird, you may have to persevere.

Bradford and Leeds week - looking to next year

Straight from New Word Alive (see my other, ongoing posts), I arrived in Bradford late on Saturday and am here until Easter Sunday thinking and praying about what I'll be doing next year. One option I have is to do a course called Transform. This is run by a group of Christians, originally based in Leeds but since expanding to include Bradford. It consists of training on Mondays (theology and practical guidance such as time management), a 5-hour placement, a 15-hour placement and a part-time job.

My interview for it is on Thursday and in addition during this week I'm taking the chance to look at different places I could do some of my placements if I do the year.

I'm also looking into an organisation called Christians Against Poverty (CAP). CAP are a debt counselling service that also offer money management courses, and whilst centrally run from their offices in Bradford most of their direct work with the people in need is done in centres around the UK that are run by and partnered with local churches. They are an explicitly Christian group, partly given their name but also through the offering of prayer on their first meeting. There's no hidden agenda, nor any need for the service users to be Christian, it's just, well, if you have faith in Christ then it'd be a bit harsh to just help someone with their earthly debts and not tell them how they can sort out their spiritual debts and be set free!

CAP offer their own internship scheme, called Reach, which sees you working Monday to Thursday with on-the-job training, and then Fridays are set aside for management-based training. There are five streams (Client, Communications, Evangelism and Discipleship, IT, and Partnership) and each offers a different challenge and opportunity to help make a difference to many people's lives. Whatever happens, it's just great to find out more about the work they do.

I'll give some updates throughout the week about how things are getting on.