Why start CAP Debt Help at your church?
“I have come that they may have life…”
God has uniquely positioned your church to help people take steps closer to Jesus, while practically loving your neighbours in poverty.
How can your church do both of these in a sustainable way?
Don’t lose who you are… use who you are as a church
CAP Debt Help partners with your church to reach struggling neighbours like Clestina in transformative ways.
“Being in debt is like being in quicksand. Once you’re in, you keep going down. As a mother I felt like a failure. I had to weigh-up if I was to buy hair ties or food.” – Clestina
Your church
brings its unique strengths, local knowledge and community flavour. Bring your relational heart and God’s Spirit to help locals experiencing tough times.
...and CAP
brings the technology, first responders, expert money advisors and client advocacy – supporting people for as long as it takes to be freed from unmanageable & hardship.
Together we can meet locals
in their homes, at the centre of their experience, as they’re facing money problems and unmanageable debt. And now, with CAP, your church is positioned to overcome poverty, bringing transformation to the lives of precious New Zealanders, in this generation and the next.
A ‘with Jesus’ approach that cares for the whole person
CAP understands that we’re complex, relational beings made up of mind, body and spirit. So, CAP Debt Help works by wrapping around the whole person and their whānau.
Your church will have the opportunity to address physical/material hardship, relational needs, and poverty of spirit in a sustainable way – all at the same time.
New Zealanders have gone from hardship to living debt free
%
of clients remain free from unmanageable debt two years after going debt-free
precious people have said “Yes” to Jesus – living life to the full
Holistic impact. As a church you’ll be:
- Stopping generational poverty in its tracks – money wisdom and freedom can be passed on to tamariki (children)
- Providing best-practice debt counselling
- Bringing God’s love into homes and lives
- Enabling people to find a sense of belonging and community
- Inviting people come to discover that they’re made in God’s image and filled with immeasurable potential and purpose
- Enriching your own congregation as you reach into lives outside the church
Social impact - independently assessed by Impact Lab
Improved mental health
Improved spiritual wellbeing
Improved partner relationships
Improved physical health & food choices
Reduced need for emergency benefits
Reduced family violence
Reduced child placements
Reduced risky behaviours
Reduced addictions
Reduced debt
Every $1 invested in CAP Debt Help returns $4.90 in social good to Aotearoa.
View the full Impact Lab report.
What are other churches saying about CAP Debt Help?
Over 50 churches from Kaitaia to Dunedin are bringing free CAP Debt Help to their local communities:
- Serving over 960 clients in desperate circumstances every year
- Delivering $14,388,781 of measurable good to New Zealand society
- 3,000 opportunities to share or demonstrate the gospel’s good news every year
Exploring a CAP Ministry
We understand it takes prayer and discernment to decide whether a CAP Debt Help ministry is the right for your church.
You can chat to CAP or organise a coffee with one of our friendly Church Relationships Managers.
You can start here
How effective is CAP Debt Help?
Run the CAP Money course
FAQ's... How can I tell if a CAP ministry is right for my church?
A good way to get started is to chat to CAP or organise a coffee with one of our Church Partnership Managers.
We offer a number of options, like free workshops, to help you and your church discover the best way to serve your community. You may choose to use some or all of the options on offer.
Do we need a big team?
Your church doesn’t need a big team. CAP Debt Help is suitable for small to large churches. At a minimum you’ll need:
- Support of your church leadership
- One part-time Debt Help centre manager from your church (12 to 16 hours a week is the standard commitment that a centre manager needs to begin with). Your church can decide whether this role is on a paid or volunteer basis.
- Additional volunteers from your church who choose to commit a few hours each month as CAP Support Friends – visiting clients, building friendships, wrapping people in need with complete support and love.
What existing skills do we need?
Your church doesn’t need specialist financial skills to begin with – simply a heart and commitment to see lives changed. Your team will be provided with training to offer this same practical help and spiritual hope.
What you will need – in finding your Debt Help Centre Manager you’ll want to identify a person with a passion for prayer, a heart for working with locals in your community, sharing the good news and the love of Jesus, a great team-builder, and someone who is comfortable with technology.
What does it take? What does my church provide?
Debt Help Centre Manager
Your Centre Manager will come from your congregation, and CAP can help you to find them. Finding the right person is a big part of making your Debt Help Centre a success. You’ll want to identify a person with:
- a passion for sharing the love of Jesus and helping people take steps closer to Jesus
- a heart for working with locals in your community
- a great team-builder and someone who is comfortable with technology.
CAP’s support office team will take care of the budgeting and negotiations with money lenders, so your Centre Manager will not need in-depth financial knowledge.
The partnership of the local Debt Coach — together with CAP's support office expertise — makes a powerful combo! Individual clients and whānau are enabled to strengthen their financial position. And with this change, there is renewed headspace to start strengthening their relationships; with money, self others, and with God.
CAP Support Friends
Your church will be needing to build a team of Support Friends. Their role will be to commit a few hours each month to befriend CAP families and show God’s love in simple ways that bring lasting impact.
Being a Support Friend looks like taking a client for coffee, popping by with a meal, helping with practical needs around the house, or inviting them to church.
Launch at a church service
Your launch service will celebrate the start of your Debt Help Centre and will honour the journey you have been on so far. Your congregation will be able to express interest in the new Debt Help ministry. Ways to get involved include offering ongoing prayer support, becoming a Support Friend, attending client events and/or supporting CAP the wider work of CAP.
Community Launch
Once your Debt Centre is open, it’s time to start sharing that news beyond your church! A community morning tea or other event will help you to establish new connections in the community and/or strengthen existing relationships.
Organisations — such as Work & Income NZ, Citizens Advice Bureau, Iwi, local foodbanks and community services — may have contact with people who desperately need CAP’s free services.
You community launch will be a great opportunity to explain how CAP works, answer questions, and to start creating a referral network that will develop into a long-term relationships.
What training and support is provided?
Comprehensive training plus on-going support and resources will be provided to ensure you run an effective and successful Debt Help service in your community.
To begin with, your Debt Help Centre Manager will attend a three day training session in Auckland. From there, a CAP representative will come to your church to help you to launch and build your church’s support team. We’ll guide you through a community launch to get local business and referral agencies on board.
Publicity tools
As a partner church, you and your team will have access to brochures, videos, posters, pullup banners and social media materials to help promote your new Debt Help centre.
Gospel Engagement support
You’ll be provided with inspiration and materials to support you in sharing God's love and helping people take steps closer to Jesus. This is an invitation, not an expectation for clients. It’s CAP’s heart to provide free help to everyone, whatever they do – or don’t – believe.
Ongoing support, development and prayer
Your Debt Help Centre Manager and Debt Coaches will be supported by the CAP team, who will provide ongoing development, trouble-shooting, prayer support. You can look forward to an annual CAP conference and regional hui to connect and collaborate with other churches who are doing what you are doing.
In addition, the CAP Client Services team will support your client families by building budgets, negotiating with creditors, advocating on their behalf, and providing expert advice throughout the 3-4 year journey out of debt.
What does it cost to run a CAP Debt Help centre?
Exploring a CAP ministry is free of cost and commitment for your church. We realise it takes prayer and discernment to decide whether a CAP Debt Help ministry is the right way to go.
If you decide to go ahead, your church is asked to make a contribution to ongoing running costs – this wouldn’t be more than 25% of total running costs. To keep your costs down, 75% of your church’s costs will be covered by regular donations from generous CAP supporters. CAP’s priority is to help you to reach people in your community, so we can talk about what is manageable for you church.
We’re sure you’ll have questions around contributions and ongoing costs, so we’ll make sure to work through these questions together.
Upcoming 2024 training dates
Debt Help training for Centre Managers and new Debt Help coaches takes place over three days at the CAP Support Office in Auckland.
The relevant people/person from your church will join a fun training environment along with trainees from other churches. It’s a great opportunity to learn from CAP’s subject matter experts. Your people will learn what it takes to run the ministry and start connecting with the wider CAP team!
Debt Help training occurs three times a year in March, June and October.
Your church partnership manager will work with you to get everything ready for your Debt Help Centre before training.
