Roommates, medical coverage is not easy to come by, and medical emergencies are unpredictable! A church in Michigan is helping families to recover by paying off their medical debt!
According to ABC 7 Chicago, Grand Rapids First Church in Michigan has raised more than $1.8 million to help pay off the medical debt of nearly 2,000 struggling families.
Sam Rijfkogel, lead pastor of the church, says the church has donated the money through a non-profit group aimed at helping families pay medical bills.
“There are people whose medical debt, they cannot pay. There is no way. It’s looming over their head,” Sam said. “Most of these folks are in poverty levels or below poverty levels and there’s no way it can be repaid, but they feel the creditor banging on their doors.”
As a collective ministry, Sam’s church gathered funds to create a missions fund, which they use to help the local community.
“Today, that $1,832,439.26 that’s looming over families right now, those families that are living at poverty rates or less, have been paid in full as a result of a gift from this church,” Pastor Sam said. “Paid in full, not held against them one bit.”
Grand Rapids First partnered with RIP Medical Debt, a New York-based debt purchasing nonprofit. The organization says it has paid off more than $624 million in medical debt since 2014!
Although church leaders do not know the identities of the people they’re helping, Grand Rapids First CFO Doug Tuttle says recipients are chosen based on need. Families whose debt outweighs their income or who already live in poverty are high priority.
Grand Rapids First reportedly hopes to inspire other churches and organizations to help tackle the medical debt issue, while reflecting the mission of Christ.
“These families owe us nothing,” Pastor Sam told his congregation. “We can be peacemakers. Just as Jesus forgave and canceled the debt of our sins, we also canceled the debt of those in our community.”
