‘Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing’ (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

At CAP, we’re passionate about encouraging and building each other up, just as we’re taught to do in the Bible. We’ll continue to do this during September as we ask you to join us in praying for the one. This month, the one will be the individual supporter who we’ll be reaching out to during our appeal week. Through their financial giving, they’ll be contributing to our mission to not just release people from debt, but to fund life-changing courses that allow our clients to: find work, free them from addictions and gain skills to budget for their future.

September – Feed the five thousand

You might have heard that this year CAP is Premier Radio’s Charity of the Year. This is a really incredible opportunity to reach out to potential new supporters. Our first appeal week runs from 2 to 9 September, during which some very brave clients will be sharing their stories on the radio and spreading the word that CAP can and does have a huge impact.

We all know the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand – he used the little that he had to do great things, and we’re called to do the same. Whether it’s by praying, giving, or just tuning in to Premier, we can all bring what we have to impact more lives.

Key prayer points: 

• Pray for courage for our clients and frontline workers as they open up and share their stories during the appeal week.
• Pray for those listening, that they would hear CAP’s heart for the poor and be encouraged to join in, whether in prayer, financially or otherwise.
• Pray that anyone who chooses to become a regular giver through the appeal week would know the eternal impact of their generosity as it helps to transform lives across the UK.

‘If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.’ (Matthew 18:12-13)

At CAP, we’re all about lifting up the one - the one family that becomes debt free, the one person that finds work, the one soul saved for Jesus. We help over 23,000 people across our services every year, but it’s these individual stories that we love to celebrate.

We do this because it’s God’s heart. He will chase that lost sheep for miles and miles and miles. No matter how far it runs, his love will not change. And when it returns home with him, he will rejoice.

From the one person who desperately needs to know that CAP exists to the one supporter encouraged to become a Life Changer, will you join us in these next few months as we pray for the one?

August – There is another way

1 in every 3 clients have considered or attempted suicide before they call CAP.

When they call CAP’s helpline, hope is restored, they are reassured that there’s a way forward and reminded that they are loved beyond measure.

Key prayer points:

• Pray for the people in this country feeling lost and afraid because of their circumstances, that they would hear about CAP and find the support they desperately need.
• Pray for those dealing with depression and anxiety and experiencing suicidal thoughts, that they would know how deeply loved and valued they are by their Heavenly Father.

Summer’s finally arrived! With the season of sun and no school upon us, your everyday routine might be out of sync. If you’ve found that this also includes your daily prayer life, there are new things going on at CAP that we’d love you to pray for. Why not join us in lifting these to God?

Frontline training

We’ve recently welcomed lots of new frontline staff at CAP HQ to receive their training before they head out into their communities as Debt Centre Managers. These amazing voices of hope will be having a direct impact on their communities as they prepare to transform lives.

Key prayer points:

• Pray that the Debt Centre Managers will be empowered and renewed after their training at head office.
• Pray that our clients will be able to see how much God is at the forefront of their motivation to help them, and that they might see this and want to come to know God in the same way.

Discovery Breaks

Our Discovery Breaks are well underway this summer. This is a time when we send our clients on a relaxing few days’ holiday so they can spend valuable time with their family. Some of these clients haven’t had a holiday in years, and our breaks can be the perfect time for them to unwind and find community after feeling isolated by their money worries.

Key prayer points:

• Pray that our clients will feel renewed, well-rested and strengthened after their break, so they’ll know that their current poverty situation is not the end – there’s always hope.
• Pray for the numerous volunteers to feel energised as they give up their time to ensure that our clients have a fulfilling weekend.
• And finally, pray for the clients that might come to know God during their break, that they’ll know how much they’re loved in God’s kingdom.

Beacon of excellence

As a charity, we're in a time of some large and exciting changes. As we navigate these, would you join us in asking God to make us a beacon of excellence, and that we would be the best we possibly can be, for our clients’ good and for his glory?

Upholding the vulnerable

When we pray, we always prioritise the vulnerable people we have the privilege of working with. Please join us in lifting up our clients who are facing some tremendously difficult situations; that they may know what it is to be upheld by their comforter and Father.

Projects, tech and strategy!

We're currently working on some huge technical projects in the world of CAP in order to improve our service for both clients and staff. We know that God cares about every detail, and so we’re bringing tech from behind the scenes to the forefront as we place these projects in the hands of our faithful God.

Build the Church

We have the incredible privilege of working with churches all over the nation in order to bring our service onto people's doorsteps and meet them where they are. We're taking time to pray for the local churches that have joined with us to see lives transformed. Would you also set aside some time to pray for the incredible work they're doing in communities like yours? Feel free to pray specifically for the CAP centres in your area (you can find out what's nearby by typing in your postcode here).

Celebration across the nations

It's important that we remember to lift up our international CAP family! Would you join us in praying for the families we're working with across the pond in Canada, New Zealand and Australia? As we close our week of prayer, we want to celebrate lives around the globe transformed forever by the power of God.

Would you pray for our new frontline workers and partner churches?

Across the UK, hundreds of churches are already hard at work stamping out poverty through a partnership with CAP. From Sunday 25 to Tuesday 27 February, we're excited to be growing this invaluable network by welcoming new frontline staff to CAP HQ for training.

They'll be preparing to get out there and visit clients, run group services and bring the hope of the gospel into thousands of broken lives. Plus, this intake will see a whole bunch of new centres opened, which means more communities with access to CAP's life changing services.

I'm sure you'll agree God needs some serious praise for all this. Let's join together, thank him and pray his abundant blessing over this training.

• More than 600 churches have made the decision to partner with CAP and free people from poverty in their communities. Quite simply, we couldn't do this without them. Praise God for these churches and the brilliant teams within them.
• Please pray that each church would be positively impacted by this new (or expanding) partnership as they experience astonishing transformation in broken lives and see people from all walks of life joining their congregation. We've seen churches totally transformed as God moves their hearts to help those in poverty on their doorsteps.
• If this training intake is anything to go by, God isn't showing signs of slowing down with CAP any time soon! It's such a blessing to be joined by more people who are passionate about and committed to ending poverty and changing lives. Praise God for his ongoing and relentless provision.
• Please pray for those coming to train next week. There's going to be a lot of information to take in and lots of people to meet, so let's pray for energy and focus.
• Praise God for all the families who will now be able to access help from CAP thanks to the new centres and new frontline staff. Lives changed: that's what it's all about!

Thanks as always for your support and prayers.