First-Plymouth Congregational Church of Lincoln has helped raise over $500,000 to pay off the medical bills of local residents, with the proceeds going to help around 500 households in the surrounding community.
The church raised the total by Easter Sunday, receiving donations from around 10,000 people, many of whom did not belong to the congregation.
The total was raised throughout the 14-month campaign, with church leadership initially thinking that their efforts would only bring in around $8,000.
Senior Pastor Rev. Jim Keck said, “The church decided that there were too many homes right in our neighborhood that were saddled with medical debt. … The church decided that every dime that went into the collection plate … would go to forgive the medical debt of homes right here in central Lincoln.”
Keck said the initiative follows the words of Jesus, who called his followers to “love their neighbor.”
The campaign began in March 2022 to erase medical debt in the Near South Neighborhood and surrounding communities by “committing all of our loose offerings (not pledges) to this effort until Easter 2023.” The campaign was done in conjunction with the Debtor’s Defense Project, which works to provide “more transparency and protection for those going through the legal process of debt collection in Nebraska.”
In an interview Keck said, “You wouldn’t think a pastor would do this; I underestimated people’s generosity.”