Predatory Lending, Finances, & Gospel Need in Denver

Concerns about predatory lending

Finances are an important concern for most people, a recent study sheds some interesting light on finances and Christians.

While predatory lending is a concern for most Americans, Christians are more strongly opposed to it than non-Christians are. Christian young adults are more likely than non-Christians to agree that lenders should only approve loans where the borrower has the ability to repay it within the term of the loan (81 percent v. 72 percent), according to a recent Lifeway Research survey.

Similarly, Christians are more likely than non-Christians to agree lenders should only extend loans at reasonable interest rates (87 percent v. 81 percent).

A 2016 Lifeway Research survey of Christians in 30 states with little to no regulation of payday loans found 77 percent believe it is a sin to loan someone money when the lender gains by harming the borrower financially.

Finances and values

The average young adult in America cares about values when making financial decisions, and they want the companies they do business with to share the same values they hold. Seventy-four percent of young adults seek to purchase from companies that share their values. Almost as many (70 percent) seek to purchase from financial institutions that share their values, and 67 percent say they try to make purchases from companies that have a social mission that benefits society in tangible ways. In general, Christians and non-Christians think similarly about these things; however, Christians are more likely to say they don’t seek to purchase from financial institutions that share their values (24 percent) than non-Christians (18 percent).

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Gospel need in Denver

Brianna McKinney says for many people Denver is a lonely place. For community, they might go to a coffee shop where they’re surrounded by others — but they’re still alone.

And the chances are slim the gospel will make it into their personal space. The city only has one evangelical church for every 32,000 people. To put that in perspective, there’s one marijuana dispensary for every 2,000 people and one brewery for every 7,000.

But through the ministry center where Brianna serves as a journeyman, she and her teammates are seeing relationships built and people saved as they work alongside missionaries and church plants. They’re reaching out to a nearby refugee school, ministering to the homeless, mobilizing teams of student volunteers and doing food distribution to families.

This year, “the mission has moved forward,” Brianna said. “We are just in need of more laborers.”

Brianna is praying God will call more people to Denver to help spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

Find more stories at BaptistPress.com. Thanks for listening to Good News for Today. I’m Brandon Porter.