Our Story
Bringing hope in Bexhill
Christians Against Poverty is an International Charity founded in the UK. CAP exists to help connect God’s people — his Church — to people who are hurting and broken in our communities, people who we might not otherwise have met.
It is a sad and shocking reality that there are those in Bexhill who do not have enough food: mums who have had to look their children in the eyes and say there is nothing to have for tea. Two thirds of families that CAP Centre Bexhill have helped missed meals before our intervention.
Often, these people are feeling written-off and hopeless about being out of work, feeling utterly useless and embarrassed with nowhere to turn. A shocking 38% of CAP’s clients said they thought about suicide as the only way out of debt before CAP stepped in.
God calls us to proclaim good news to the poor. This was Jesus’ mission, and as Jesus’ followers it should also be ours. To get involved in the mess and to get involved in people’s lives. To help practically in showing love and giving care.
Keep reading to find out more about the impact of CAP Centre Bexhill in our community.
Support CAP Bexhill — see the ways you can help
How we’ve helped
We have been running the CAP debt centre in Bexhill on Sea for nearly 10 years now, based out of the Freedom Church building.
In this time we have seen over 350 client families: of these, over 170 families gone completely debt-free and, better still, we’ve seen 65 people respond to the gospel message in following Christ. On average, we see 4 new clients each month, giving free debt help and reaching the community with God’s love.
We run a regular drop in service at Freedom Church Marketplace Café on Tuesday mornings, as well as visits at The Pelham on Thursday mornings (by appointment). Our CAP Money Courses are suitable for anyone needing help to manage on a budget. All of our services are provided at no cost to the clients — we therefore rely on financial donations from supporters. We are also supported by four wonderful partner churches in Bexhill and Rother — we’d of course love to see more join us in helping to further this Kingdom work in our area — you can find out more about partnering with us here.
Bexhill families helped
Christmas Hampers distributed
families debt-free
£3,000
monthly running cost
Meet our team
Guy Partridge
Centre Manager
Having joined CAP Bexhill as a Debt Coach in 2020, I took on the role of Centre Manager in January of 2022.
I’m passionate about the work that CAP does and I love its holistic approach, setting people free from the burden of debt physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I believe that partnering with other likeminded people and organisations is vital in this work of seeing local people becoming debt free.
In addition to my work with CAP, I’ve been a Baptist Pastor for over 20 years. I currently work for Freedom Church one day a week as their Community Pastor.
I really enjoy living in Bexhill, and can often be found walking on the beach, with my wife Luci and our dog Shadow — or falling off my paddle board!
I’d always welcome the opportunity to tell you more about getting involved with CAP over a cup of coffee and a slice of cake.
Ros Thomas
Debt Coach
My journey with CAP started over 17 years ago. I had been made redundant, I visited a conference, asking God to show me my next step. A conversation with a lady at the CAP stand struck me deeply, so I signed up for regular giving and newsletter updates.
Some years later, after joining Freedom Church, I was involved from the start as the church sought to found a CAP Centre to show love to our community. After interviews and training, I became the Bexhill Centre Manager! We opened in April 2011 and after just a week, we were fully booked for appointments 3 months in advance.
I have spoken on behalf of CAP at many churches in East Sussex and have been privileged to be involved in the growth of the CAP network, which now includes centres in Hastings and Eastbourne.
I can honestly say I have loved my job since I started. It is an honour and privilege to work with my wonderful clients, some of whom have been through the hardest of times and very difficult challenges, yet have come through the other side to a debt free future full of hope.
Making a difference
The first time I met the lovely Ros was a couple years before I asked for help. It was nearing Christmas and I was having a really bad financial time and this lady knocked on my door with 2 boxes full of food and presents and said I had been referred by a friend. It truly was a moment I would never forget. I felt so grateful and excited to see what was in them: I felt like a child on Christmas morning. Not only did I make a cup of tea straight away to dip my M&S biscuits in ha-ha but I put stuff in piles to give to other people i.e. a friend’s little girl but for a man’s children who had recently lost his wife it truly touched my heart and gave me faith that the world is still a beautiful place with kind beautiful people. Thank you Ros, I will never forget that evening ❤
To cut a long story short, I had previously been working and staying on top of my bills, but my life changed when I lost the love of my life and heartbreak and depression got me. I couldn’t work and buried my head in the sand for a few years, ignoring the bailiff letters and knocks on the door until the stress became too much to bear — along with my other mental health issues. So, I decided to get in touch with Ros at the CAP Centre.
It was a hard struggle to go through all the meetings and paperwork and just talking about my situation, but it was the best thing I ever did. Now, instead of getting a water bill for £6,000 — which would have gone straight in the bin and sent me back to bed — the other day I opened a water bill and it said I owed £21.65, and I smiled the biggest smile.
I just want to say to Ros and the team — thank you for not only helping me with my debts, but you have helped me get out of bed in the morning and not worry about another letter or knock on the door. You’ve also helped me in my personal life with my mental health. I thank you all especially Ros for your help, kindness and your beautiful hearts.
God bless you all.
PJ