Shoutlouder

a trip to Christians Against Poverty

// August 8th, 2008 // Evangelism, Leadership, Missions

Had the great pleasure to visit the CAP offices this morning at the invitation of Matt Barlow – the UK Chief Executive. The main reason for the invite was due to the increasing number of my congregation who are being employed at the Head Office based in Bradford City Centre. So it was good to connect with Matt and get a chance to see first hand the place that everyone raves about… and they have good reason too..

CAP’s head quarters is an old mill that has been converted into a large open place office space keeping some of the old features. The main floor you enter onto is effectively a massive attic complete with sweeping glass windows that make up the entire wall and overlook the city centre of Bradford. You can’t help but stop and stare across the city in awe as you take in the mass of humanity that is sprawled before you – a mass of lives currently living under the weight of the ‘credit crunch’ which makes CAP’s work even more important as across the nation it seeks to help people out of the often overpowering and crushing weight of debt.

CAP won the award for the No.1 Small Business in this years Sunday Times competition. No mean feat at all – and the award sits pride of place amongst a whole heap of awards and recognitions that this incredible organisation duly deserve.

It’s amazing that it all started in the heart of just one man – a passionate John Kirkby who just wanted to make a difference. Now there are over 90 staff and even more being employed each month in a business that is funded entirely by the generosity of CAP ‘Life Changers’ who give monthly and then through the sponsorship and donations provided by businesses, banks and individuals. Plus on top of that there are now CAP centres open in churches across the nation and now – thanks to a chance meeting with Ps Phil Pringle at the last Fabulous Conference – CAP are opening up centres in Australia and elsewhere around the world.

It truly is a remarkable achievement and goes to show what can happen when someone takes a hold of the God given vision that God has placed in their heart. The untold stories are the countless thousands of lives who are being freed from debt every year through their work – plus the many who don’t just receive freedom from debt but also freedom in Christ through the witness and prayerful support of the staff and workers across all the centres.

As I sat with Matt chatting over the coffee a Bell rung in the office and I found myself experiencing first hand the gathering of the entire office staff to hear about the two people who have just become Christians through the work of CAP. As we stood there listening to the testimony and praying for the individuals you could see the faces of the staff members being refreshed and filled with a new sense of purpose and vision, realising that the job they were doing is more than just a job – its changing lives for eternity! The bell ringing is a daily occurance – even happening up to two times a day – and no one ever tires of the interuption..

It really is quite a profound thing that God has done and I count it a privilege to be connected to what is happening – not just through the members of the congregation who are staff members – but also as this week we signed up as a CAP Money church. This means we’ll have 4 trained members of the congregation who can run CAP’s new Money course with a small group of people – giving basic financial advice and support to everyone. It’s an opportunity to share with people the simple basics of how NOT to get into debt – but also a door of opportunity to share something of God’s love in people’s lives.

If you want to support CAP then make sure you visit their website at www.capuk.org – and if you’re interested as a church at getting involved then give them a call!