“Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.” (Acts 10:4)
Why Pray?
• Outstanding personal debt stood at £1.451 trillion at the end of November 2011.
• Outstanding unsecured (consumer credit) lending stood at £208 billion at the end of November 2011.
• Average household debt in the UK (excluding mortgages) was £7,982 in November.
• Average household debt in the UK (including mortgages) was £55,816 in November.
• Average amount owed per UK adult (including mortgages) was £29,543 in November. This was around 122% of average earnings.
Every Day in the UK
• Based on the latest available data, Credit Action estimates that every day in the UK: 331 people are declared insolvent or bankrupt every day. This is equivalent to 1 person every 60 seconds during each working day.
• 1,779 Consumer County Court Judgements (CCJs) are issued every day. The average value of a CCJ in 2011 was £2,816.
• Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales dealt with 8,652 new debt problems every working day during the year ending September 2011.
• 101 properties are repossessed every day.
• 88 new people a day became unemployed for over 12 months during the year ending October 2011.
Crosslight: What we're all about
Often people may feel a sense of hopelessness, and think that there is simply no way out for them. However that simply isn’t true. Crosslight has a team of experienced staff and volunteer advisors who are trained to help people in debt. We are here to help anyone who has debt problems, regardless of the cause. Most of us at one time or another will have got ourselves into some kind of financial difficulty, and so we promise never to judge. Whatever your situation, we will have seen worse, and even though you may feel lost, we will help you back onto the road of financial stability. We deal with all types of issues from rent or housing arrears, to credit card debts, council tax arrears, and personal loans, and everything is treated with the strictest confidence.
How to pray?
• Please pray for the Crosslight advisors who are experienced in dealing with all aspects of debt advice, and are passionate about seeing lives restored.
• Please pray that those struggling with debt would have access to the resources they need to break free, and the courage to make use of these resources.
• Please pray for strengthened partnerships between debt advice agencies, and the church.