Churches across the U.S. Pay Off Millions of Dollars in Medical Debt

Churches across the United States are engaging in a wonderful work of compassion, by paying off the medical debt of unsuspecting strangers.

By partnering with organizations like RIP Medical Debt, generous congregations have been blessing debt-ridden families beyond measure, by lifting their crippling financial burden and ushering them into a newfound freedom.

One such church engaging in the life-changing work is Pathway Church on the outskirts of Wichita, Kansas. They managed to pay off $2.2 million in debt, according to the National Catholic Reporter. That was enough to cover every single Kansas resident facing imminent bankruptcy due to spiraling medical expenses that they couldn’t afford to pay — some 1,600 people in total!

“Being able to do this provides an opportunity to illustrate what it means to have a debt paid that they could never pay themselves,” said Executive Pastor Larry Wren, noting that the fundraising announcement coincided with the Church’s Easter weekend celebrations. “It just was a great fit,” he added.

Wren noted that “sometimes the more powerful spiritual message is when you’re able to do something for somebody that you’ll never meet.”

Another congregation, Emmanuel Memorial Episcopal Church, is made up of just 175 families. But despite their modest size, this faith community was able to abolish a staggering $4 million in medical debt,…