Debt Annihilation Team
Purpose:
“Do not owe anything to anyone besides love.” (Rom 13:8) This is for freedom. Free people can do more than those in bondage. [Gal 5] Our exhortation to the church: don’t use your freedom like stereotypical Americans…enslaved to debt, living in the shame, not experiencing a fuller freedom of sharing and unable to fully particpate in the imagination and responsibility of life in the church.
We want to offer practical solutions to the slavery of consumer debt by building community trust, sharing, and providing capital to eliminate consumer debt in our community.
Mission:
The Debt Annihilation Team has four parts: Intake, Personal Finance Coaches, D.A.T. Leaders, and Group Administrators. We form applicants into groups of “astronauts” for a period of time when they will use seed money and an agreed upon strategy to pay off one another’s debt.
“Family, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore them gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are nothing, they deceives themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves, without comparing one to somebody else, for each one should carry their own load.” (Galatians 6:1-5)
Progress so far:
Throughout the Spring of 2010, we began gathering the team. We found people who wanted to give this idea a try and started training. Mennonite Mutual Aid trained our Personal Finance Coaches. ”Astronauts” did a lot of work with their creditors and personal budget.
By November of 2010, we unleashed the seed fund and began a process of empowering, community building annihilation of consumer debt. Our current plan is to wipe out about $23,000 of debt and interest in the next 24 months or so, faster than what would be normally possible for the individuals.
The basic process:
The “astronauts” commit to the Debt Annihilation Group for a period of time that will remove an agreed-upon amount of debt. We’ll determine how to get this done most efficiently, with the debt and giving we have available within the group.
- Individuals in the group also commit to an agreed-upon baseline amount (above their minimum monthly payment) to contribute to the debt-removal process.
The order of “execution” is discerned. Everyone in the group begins to pay off the LOWEST person’s debt or HIGHEST interest rate-whichever is discerned to be more effective for that group, while only paying the minimum balance on all other debt. The seed money is used to strengthen the effort.
Once the first person is paid off, all baseline funds (including the person who is paid off) go towards the next person. The process repeats until everyone is paid off and the seed fund is replenished for the next group.
Once the seed fund is replenished and people have gone through our coaching and “graduated”, they are welcome to give small amounts of money ($10-$20/mo suggested) towards the seed fund for future annihilation.
Team Leader: Joshua Grace joshua@circleofhope.net