John Kirkby
17 December 2009 at 11:35am

This week we are having a big office move at head office and lots of Christmas fun in snowy Bradford! I also have a look at the amazing year we have had.

Can't see the video? Read what was said here.

John

John Kirkby
3 December 2009 at 1:00pm

What a couple of weeks! I've just got back from my trip to Australia and New Zealand. This week in my video blog, a look at the venue for our Sydney fundraising dinner and I talk to you from Singapore. Look out for some ridiculous Christmas Decorations!

Can't see the video? Read what was said here.

John

John Kirkby
25 November 2009 at 2:30pm

Having had an amazing week with CAP New Zealand, I'm now in Australia getting ready for the client awards tomorrow night. Watch my video blog below to see how the New Zealand awards night went, as well as a look at the expanding CAP New Zealand offices.

Can't see the video? Read what was said here.

John

John Kirkby
17 November 2009 at 12:30pm

This week, take a look at my new video blog to find out the latest on my trip to CAP Australia and CAP New Zealand.

Can't see the video? Read what was said here.

John

John Kirkby
28 October 2009 at 02:57pm

Facing your fears can be a hard thing, but nearly fifty brave people conquered their vertigo and took part in our fantastic Northern Abseil on Saturday at Baitings Reservoir Dam. At over 60 metres high, it was no mean feat and the forty-eight participants raised over £8,000 between them, including two clients who managed to get a staggering £400 of sponsorship in just a week; a brilliant effort and so inspiring to see clients supporting our work so wholeheartedly.

In spite of the wind and rain, it was a great event and I want to make special mention of two CAP members of staff who worked tirelessly to arrange, organise and inspire us to take part; Edd Parker and Jas Clarke. Edd is one of our REACH interns here and his expertise in heading up this event whilst only having been at CAP for a few months is simply outstanding.

The abseil brought to an end what has been a record-breaking year of sponsored events at CAP; we’ve had the Three Peaks Challenge, London to Paris cycle and the Northern Abseil, to name but a few. Without exception, these events have been a fantastic success and have raised over £150,000 for CAP. It is truly amazing to see the impact of people across the country doing what they can to further the work that CAP is doing. To everyone who has taken part in any fundraising events for CAP this year, we want to say a huge thank you – your time and efforts are making a difference to the lives of many.

John

John Kirkby
20 October 2009 at 12:38pm

We’ve had a fantastic weekend, with one of our three ‘INSPIRE’ events for this year taking place in Manchester. Nearly 400 people packed into the venue to hear three heart-stopping and inspirational client testimonies and find out more about the future for CAP over the coming five years. With over 26 churches represented at the event too, it truly was a significant even for us as a charity and a wonderful opportunity to talk to more people about the work of CAP. 

Another brilliant result of the day was that seventy more people decided to regularly donate to support our work and become Life Changers – they truly are the lifeblood of the charity and without them we simply would not be able to help all the desperate people that we do. Click here to find out more about becoming a Life Changer if you’re not already one.

With our twenty new centres now all trained up and raring to go, it’s a really pivotal time for us as we continue our expansion across the UK. Please pray that the publicity that these new centres are doing in the first month would be really effective and that they build up a steady stream of clients too. You can also support us by attending one of the launch services and you can find more details about them here. If there is one near you, I’d urge you to go. They are fantastic, faith-filled times when we commission our new staff to go into their local communities and change lives with God’s love. What an incredible ministry we are called to and what an awesome privilege to serve our God in this way.

John

John Kirkby
15 October 2009 at 12:50pm

This week we have our new Centre Managers and Debt Coaches here for training and the atmosphere is truly electric. To see all these people growing in their understanding of CAP and the fantastic opportunities that will open up to them to show God’s love is awesome. As they head off on Friday we know that communities, families and individuals will be changed for eternity.

Autumn is always a busy time for us at CAP, as we gear up for our fantastic Client Award Dinner. At the moment, we’re busy talking to clients whose lives have been truly transformed by God through the work of CAP and it always freshly inspires us to keep going with the vision God has given us. If you want to read more about the lives that have been changed through CAP, why not click here to check out our Real Life Stories or to get yourself a copy of our inspirational book, ‘Journeys of Hope' click here.

Alternatively, you can come to our fantastic INSPIRE event that is taking place in Manchester on Saturday 17 October.  This is a great opportunity for you to find out more about the work of CAP and hear directly from clients about the difference that CAP makes.  If you’ve supported us for years, or if you’re new to all things CAP, it promise to be an excellent time and I’d thoroughly recommend it and it’s not too late to book your place! Click here to book your place.

John

John Kirkby
07 October 2009 at 10:49am

Things are really hotting up here in anticipation of the arrival of our new Debt Coaches and Centre Managers next week.  As I’ve mentioned in past blogs, we have the incredible privilege of opening twenty centres in October; that’s twenty communities that can now have access to our free, life-changing service, twenty communities where people can now have hope and a solution to their crippling debt problems.  I simply can’t wait to see these awesome people trained up and sent out to transform their towns and cities with God’s love.  Exciting stuff!

Just the other day we saw yet another incredible demonstration of God’s provision for us when we exceeded the £600,000 mark as our ‘Ultimate Challenge’ took one step closer to the £750,000 target.  I was struck the other day about how incredible this is when you consider what God is doing and I felt afresh the challenge not to take this for granted.  We truly are standing on the cusp of something amazing; something that will change the culture of this country one life at a time.  We are simply honoured, blessed and deeply privileged to be used by God and raised up for such a time as this.

I can’t wait to give you updates about how our new centre openings are going and whether we’ll be speaking at a church near you. Remember, if you would like to book one of our trained CAP Speakers for a date at your church, it couldn’t be simpler; just click here to visit the following page and fill out the request form.

John

John Kirkby
01 October 2009 at 01:57pm

Well, things don't stay still at CAP for very long, especially with our exciting plans to open another 60 centres during the next year. With the Ultimate Challenge only just over, we are straight onto the next challenge! In October, we have the privilege of welcoming over thirty new Centre Managers and Debt Coaches to Jubilee Mill to commence their training. There's always a real buzz around the mill when these weeks take place, as the latest group of awesome, servant-hearted people come to receive world-class training and prepare to impact their communities with the love of God to help people in desperate need.

We are opening in some very strategic towns and cities across the UK in October. I would welcome you to join us and pray for those who will be stepping out in faith to rescue people whose lives are being torn apart by uncontrollable debt. Click here for details of centre launch locations and dates.

We have also welcomed an additional 25 people to the family at Jubilee Mill, but before you start worrying, we've still got ample space to fit all their desks in! We have 15 fantastic people doing our Reach Intern Programme this year; people who have sacrificially given a year of their lives to serve God at CAP and receive some awesome management training as they do so. We have also welcomed 10 new members of staff to the team too and their impact is already being felt right across the charity. God is so faithful and we have a fantastic bunch of talented and servant-hearted people. Who could ask for more?

John

John Kirkby
10 September 2009 at 11:46am

We did it! I almost can’t believe that I’m writing these words... 84 miles run in less than 30 hours! An incredible challenge, but boy was it worth it! Over £560,000 raised to help more families in desperate need across the UK.

I cannot express to you how overwhelmed I am by the response to the Ultimate Challenge. As you can tell from reading this, we survived the run and did it in 29 hours, 40 minutes! It was absolutely God that got us through. I honestly can’t believe we faced swollen rivers, waterlogged paths and boggy moorland and managed to survive with such little injury and so much less physical pain than we had anticipated. You can see more on the Ultimate Challenge web page (click here), including videos of us before, during and after the run (the pain on our faces is pretty obvious at some points!).

What’s more, the amount of money we have so far raised is simply breathtaking. God has underlined his commitment to seeing people freed from debt across the UK by enabling so many of you to give so generously. I want to say a massive personal thank you for your awe-inspiring generosity, but I also want to say thank you on behalf of all the clients whose lives will be changed for eternity as we open more centres across the UK and continue to offer our service through our existing centres.

If you are yet to give to the Ultimate Challenge, you don’t need to doubt whether we’re going to finish the race – the proof is captured on film! Please consider if there is anything you can give in order for us to reach our target of £750,000 and see the foundations laid to open another 60 centres throughout the coming year. Click on www.capuk.org/ultimatechallenge to make your pledge.

Thank you once again. I’m deeply humbled by your love and support.

John