Rescue from over-indebtedness? Christians against poverty

Unmanageable personal debt creates a situation that is commonly described as “over-indebtedness.” Over-indebtedness has caused millions of people across the UK to seek advice for their situations which they feel powerless to resolve themselves. This thesis examines the work of one particular debt advice service, Christians Against Poverty (CAP) and its work through a local church, The Helpful Church. CAP provides its debt advice service through local churches so clients can experience the love of God through face to face long term advice and help. The Helpful CAP Centre (HCC) is a local CAP Centre in Derbyshire, England and is staffed by volunteers from The Helpful Church. The Helpful Church wants people to have an opportunity to experience and understand the good news (the Gospel) of the love of God which is expressed through Jesus and His Kingdom and found within the narrative of the Bible. The CAP project provides people with such an opportunity. Within the framework of Practical Theology, this thesis looks particularly at the communication of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God through the work of The Helpful CAP Centre’s debt advice service. Through empirical research methods of questionnaire and interview the impact on and response of the CAP clients to this service has been sought and evaluated. Patterns identified in the data can be used to improve delivery of debt advice through the local centre. A key recommendation is the design and use of bespoke literature which uses terminology the clients have come to understand – debt and rescue. Literature of this type could provide more opportunity for clients to understand the Gospel, thus fulfilling The Helpful Church’s aim in running the CAP projec