Church congregations are so concerned with the financial hardships of their local communities they have partnered with a charity to offer debt counselling.

Members of City Church Chelmsford and Danbury Mission, amongst others, wanted to better serve people living with the pressure of debt and got in touch with UK debt counselling charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP). After much fundraising, they plan to offer the new, free service from late May.

Church minister, Simon Medcroft, said: “Debt stress can be so destructive. It affects family relationships, health and can be very isolating. As a community, we wanted to provide people with a route out of debt and CAP is distinct because it does that in partnership with churches.

“Sometimes people feel they have made mistakes but very often they have been driven into debt by suffering from job loss, relationship breakdown or coping with illness in the family or a bereavement – situations that are often difficult, emotional and have a financial impact.

“We are now in the process of putting a dedicated Debt Centre Manager and some church members through training with CAP to offer a face-to-face, tried-and-tested professional service which will see people escape that debt trap and get their lives back on track.”

CAP has around 300 church-based debt help centres across the UK offering a free service which begins with three home visits.

TV’s Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has described CAP as “unsurpassed” in its in-depth service which encourages and supports each household to repay what they owe – or go through an insolvency – until the day they are debt free.