Religion u0026 Belief

Transformation Church Erases⁣ Medical Debt for Escambia County Residents

Transformation Church⁢ in Pensacola,Florida,has partnered ⁤with the non-profit institution Undue Medical Debt to eliminate medical debt for individuals and households in Escambia County. The initiative aims to provide relief⁢ to those earning four ⁢times below⁤ the federal poverty level or whose medical debt constitutes 5% or more of their annual income.

The‍ church, with ⁢approximately 1,700 members, allocated funds from its annual​ tithe ‌- ⁤10% of all donations received⁤ – to purchase and forgive the debt. ​”This is just​ something we do,” explained Pastor Justin Oswald, executive pastor at Transformation Church. “We don’t ‍stand up there and take ‌up a special offering. We teach our church that we ‍all tithe,but we tithe as a church as well.”

the project was inspired by a video⁣ Pastor Oswald saw featuring another church utilizing Undue Medical Debt’s services. Church leaders determine project allocations and funding levels at the beginning of ⁤each year.

Local businessman and church ‌member, David Livingston, and his wife Ashley, were⁢ particularly moved to ⁣support the ⁣initiative due‍ to their personal ‍experience with the financial ​burden of medical bills. Their 5-year-old son, Jabyn, passed away in 2018 after a​ 3 ½ year⁤ battle with a disease requiring‍ frequent hospitalizations. “He had been in and out of hospitals for​ 3 1/2⁢ years,” Livingston shared. “So, on a personal level, we know what it feels like ⁤to have a medical debt hanging over your head,‌ so when Justin brought the idea to me it almost was an instant yes ⁣for me.‌ We just needed to figure out how and what we could do.”

Undue‍ Medical Debt, founded in 2014⁣ by former ⁣debt collection executives, ‍was ⁣born from inspiration drawn from medical debt elimination efforts during⁤ the 2011 Occupy⁢ Wall Street movement. The⁣ organization purchases bundled ‌medical debt, often for pennies on the dollar, and then forgives​ it. To date,Undue‍ Medical Debt has reportedly relieved over $22 billion in medical debt for more than ‌14 million people,working with partners like Transformation Church.

Livingston​ emphasized ⁣the generosity of the church’s congregation as key to the success of the⁢ project.”God has called us⁤ to steward the ‌generosity of our church⁤ and so ⁢we don’t take that lightly,” he said.⁣ “We always want⁤ to look for the maximum return on investment.”

Due ‍to privacy ‍regulations, Transformation Church will not be able to identify individuals whose debt has been erased unless⁣ those individuals choose to come forward. “We don’t even know if anyone ⁣in our ⁤church‌ will be affected or not,” Oswald ‌stated. “we would love ‍that, but this is for the community.”

Transformation Church is located at 6800 Mobile Highway⁤ and⁢ is opening a new campus in ⁣Gulf Breeze this ‍month.