CORYDON, Ind. (WDRB) -- Inside the First Capital Christian Church in Corydon on a recent Sunday morning, something happened that Senior Pastor Randy Kirk said left him absolutely stunned.
The church has a proud tradition of giving to those who need it most. But this was something new.
"Our people got on board, and they sacrificed," Kirk said.
In the weeks leading up to that Sunday, Kirk had done a series of talks about managing money and getting rid of debt. The congregation knew that the last of his talks would be about generosity and helping others get rid of their debt. They also knew that there would be a special offering taken up on that Sunday that would go toward wiping out medical debt for those who couldn't pay it.
One by one, members attached an envelope with their donation to letters forming the word "Hope." The goal was bold.
"We set as a target $28,000 for a one-time offering," Kirk said. "And I didn't have a clue if we could come close to that or not."
They didn't come close to that. They blew it away, raising a mind-boggling $70,000, two and a half times the goal.
Everyone gave — young and old.
"Two elementary girls ran a lemonade stand, made $180 and brought that," Kirk said.
First Capital Christian Church Senior Pastor Randy Kirk
But, members didn't just wipe out $70,000 of debt. The church was working with a group called RIP Medical Debt, based in New York, which buys old medical debt at pennies on the dollar. So, that $70,000 actually wiped out $6.2 million of debt that had been saddling nearly 4,000 people in Harrison, Crawford, Washington and Perry counties. The average debt eliminated was more than $1,600.
"We found that 15 million people a year are going insolvent, meaning they're incurring debt way over the assets that they have. So, they're technically bankrupt," says Craig Antico, who helped to start RIP Medical Debt in 2014. "When churches ask for money from their parishioners ... and the people know that they're going to be making a big impact in their community, they give like crazy. Almost everybody has had that experience themselves where they had unexpected medical costs that just really threw them a curve ball."
In fact, in the nearly six years since RIP was founded, some 300 churches have gotten rid of nearly $920 million in debt for more than 375,000 people. People whose lives, Antico said, are being majorly changed.
"Up to 80% of the people that don't get a mortgage is because of a medical debt," he said.
Kirk said word of what happened at his church has inspired other churches to do the same, from Indianapolis to Seymour, to Frankfort, Kentucky.
One disappointment is there's been little response from those the church helped. But Kirk said that's not the point.
On July 7, 2019, First Capital Christian Church took up an offering that is expected to purchase and forgive $6.2 million worth of medical debt in four Indiana counties.
"You don't do this stuff so that other people will recognize you," he said. "You do this because there are people that have needs, and you just want to be God's hands and feet."
Kirk said the members of his church are far from wealthy, which he said shows any church anywhere can make a huge impact.
If your church or organization would like to get more information about RIP Medical Debt, click here.
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