LOAN PROJECT
MERCY IN ACTION
We read in the Bible that God calls us to live with mercy for our neighbor. La Crosse is blessed with a number of groups that meet immediate, emergency needs. As a church, we wanted to find a project that helps individuals find stability and long-term transformation for their lives.
LOANS FOR CHANGE
Loans are a way to work with people to identify their needs, make a plan to address their needs, and make change happen for long-lasting transformation.
Micro-loans have a long history in Methodism. In the 1700s, people who were active in Methodist small groups were able to take small loans from the weekly offerings to improve their personal circumstances. Methodists went from being a group of low-income believers to a financially strong denomination of middle-class people.
KIVA.ORG LOANS
Many organizations now work in communities around the world to help people examine their needs and develop action plans for change. Kiva.org is a website that collects the financial plans of individuals and connects them to lenders who provide the capital to make the plans viable. Kiva gives people a second chance when their lives have been disrupted, or offers opportunities for projects that are smaller than banks are interested in.
BRIDGES PORTFOLIO
Since 2020, Bridges Church has been providing loan funds through Kiva.org. We encourage every person in our church to go online and pick out loan recipients as they work with our loan project manager to complete the loans.
Bridges Church has deposited $1,180 and made $2,100 in loans. We reload funds as they are repaid, and continue to make new loans almost every month. We have made 70 loans in 27 countries, including supporting borrowing neighbors in La Crosse & Wisconsin. 71% of our loans have gone to women, and our international loans focus on South American, Africa and Asia.
Click here to see our portfolio.
BUILD YOUR PORTFOLIO
Want to make your own loans to neighbors around the world? Click here to go to Kiva.org and open your own account. You can make a deposit and select projects to fund.
At the bottom of the Kiva website you can click on Teams and search for Bridges Church to join our team. Every team member's loans will show up on the Bridges Church team and we can track how many neighbors we are supporting!
