The First-Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln, Nebraska has raised more than $500,000 to clear the medical debts of local residents. The initiative has assisted around 500 families from the community. The total amount was raised by Easter Sunday through a 14-month campaign and through the donations received from around 10,000 contributors.
The Christian Post reports:
A Nebraska church has helped raise over $500,000 to pay off the medical bills of local residents, with the proceeds going to help around 500 households in the surrounding community.
First-Plymouth Congregational Church of Lincoln raised the total by Easter Sunday, receiving donations from around 10,000 people, many of whom did not belong to the congregation.
The total was raised throughout the 14-month campaign, with church leadership initially thinking that their efforts would only bring in around $8,000.
“Sometimes love has to be expressed in actions. We have had an initiative all year that is just love on the move,” Senior Pastor Rev. Jim Keck said in his Easter sermon on Sunday. “The church decided that there were too many homes right in our neighborhood that were saddled with medical debt. … The church decided that every dime that went into the collection plate … would go to forgive the medical debt of homes right here in central Lincoln.”
According to the church’s website, the campaign started in March 2022 with the aim of eradicating medical debt in Lincoln’s Near South Neighborhood and the nearby areas. The campaign was conducted in collaboration with the Debtor’s Defense Project, which aims at providing protection and transparency to those who are undergoing the legal processes associated with the collection of debt in Nebraska.
The church’s website explains that the campaign began in March 2022 to erase medical debt in the Near South Neighborhood and surrounding communities by “committing all of our loose offerings (not pledges) to this effort until Easter 2023.” The campaign was done in conjunction with the Debtor’s Defense Project, which works to provide “more transparency and protection for those going through the legal process of debt collection in Nebraska.”
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