Nearly 1 / 4 of Britain’s population have received support or assistance from a church or Christian organisation within the last five years, recent research has shown.
A poll of two,000 people conducted by Opinium and commissioned by Christians Against Poverty (CAP) found that 23 per cent of adults have received such support within the last five years.
Support from churches takes many forms, with probably the most common being provision of food, particularly during Christmas (16 per cent of all support).
Mental health and emotional support accounted for around eight per cent. Only barely less frequent was assistance to find employment, claiming advantages, help managing money or debt, and the supply of toiletries.
Stewart McCulloch, Chief Executive Officer of CAP, said that for a lot of in Britain the economic outlook had been bleak.
“Life is, and has been, very tough for tens of millions of low-income households lately, with the worth of essentials, comparable to food and energy, consistently rising and continuing to achieve this.”
He added, “At CAP, we see how when local churches show love in motion of their local area, it strengthens the community, reduces poverty and transforms lives.”
The research also showed that despite its fame as an economic power-house, London had by far the best proportion of individuals saying they or someone they knew had made use of church or Christian assistance (52 per cent).
By way of comparison, the subsequent highest was Yorkshire at 29 per cent. In the south of England typically only 13 per cent of adults access, or know someone who accesses, use of such assistance.
Some support may be small-scale, but in other cases it could actually be life changing. CAP used the instance of Jade, a single mother of three scuffling with debt.
Sharing her experience, Jade said, “At the time, I felt like I just couldn’t do it anymore. I used to be by myself with three young children and I used to be pondering to myself, ‘How on earth am I going to sort this out?’ I called CAP and immediately they were like, ‘How can we help? Do you would like food? Do you would like an energy top-up?’ It really was the turning point in my life.”
Now freed from debt, Jade spoke of the spiritual in addition to material effects CAP’s intervention has had on her life.
“My son was really struggling, he had some medical issues. My local debt coach, Ben, and a befriender from my church offered to wish for him and he was healed. The issues just stopped. I suddenly realised that they prayed and he was healed, and that’s after I gave my life to Jesus.
“I fully imagine Jesus exists. Being supported by CAP and Holy Trinity Church [Barnstaple] has completely transformed our lives,” she said.
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