<div>Roommates, medical coverage is not easy to come by, and medical emergencies are unpredictable! A church in Michigan is helping families to recover by paying off their medical debt!</div>
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<div>According to ABC 7 Chicago, Grand Rapids First Church in Michigan has raised more than $1.8 million to help pay off the medical debt of nearly 2,000 struggling families.</div>
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<div>Sam Rijfkogel, lead pastor of the church, says the church has donated the money through a non-profit group aimed at helping families pay medical bills.</div>
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<div>&#8220;There are people whose medical debt, they cannot pay. There is no way. It&#8217;s looming over their head,&#8221; Sam said. &#8220;Most of these folks are in poverty levels or below poverty levels and there&#8217;s no way it can be repaid, but they feel the creditor banging on their doors.&#8221;</div>
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<div>As a collective ministry, Sam&#8217;s church gathered funds to create a missions fund, which they use to help the local community.</div>
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<div>&#8220;Today, that $1,832,439.26 that&#8217;s looming over families right now, those families that are living at poverty rates or less, have been paid in full as a result of a gift from this church,&#8221; Pastor Sam said. &#8220;Paid in full, not held against them one bit.&#8221;</div>
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<div>Grand Rapids First partnered with RIP Medical Debt, a New York-based debt purchasing nonprofit. The organization says it has paid off more than $624 million in medical debt since 2014!</div>
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<div>Although church leaders do not know the identities of the people they&#8217;re helping, Grand Rapids First CFO Doug Tuttle says recipients are chosen based on need. Families whose debt outweighs their income or who already live in poverty are high priority.</div>
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<div>Grand Rapids First reportedly hopes to inspire other churches and organizations to help tackle the medical debt issue, while reflecting the mission of Christ.</div>
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<div>&#8220;These families owe us nothing,&#8221; Pastor Sam told his congregation. &#8220;We can be peacemakers. Just as Jesus forgave and canceled the debt of our sins, we also canceled the debt of those in our community.&#8221;</div>
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