“Medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy, but to me, that doesn't really paint the whole picture,” said Erica Hill Strauss as she spoke to the congregation at West View United Methodist Church on a Sunday in November. “There are a lot of people like me, who never filed for bankruptcy but struggled for years with medical debt.”
Strauss was stunned by the response she received after worship, as many people came up to her and said either they or family members had been in a similar situation in regard to medical debt. Her words really struck a chord with people, and she wants to get the message out.
Where There is Love for Mankind Grace Abounds
Enter the “Grace Abounds: A Campaign to Abolish Medical Debt” campaign that West View UMC undertook during the Christmas holiday season. The campaign aimed to abolish medical debt in Allegheny County by partnering with national non-profit organization Undue Medical Debt. The goal was to raise $15,000 by the end of January 2026, and in doing so, Undue Medical Debt will be able to forgive around $1.5 million in medical debt, impacting around 1,700 individuals in Allegheny County.
Undue Medical Debt is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose purpose is to strengthen communities by erasing financially burdensome medical debt. Founded in 2014 by former debt collection executives, Undue Medical Debt is one of the leading charitable organizations that help pay medical bills. The organization uses data analytics to pinpoint the debt of those most in need: households that earn less than 4x the federal poverty level (varies by state, family size) or whose debts are 5% or more of annual income. Then, Undue buys debt in bundles, millions of dollars at a time, at a fraction of the original cost. This means your donation relieves about 100x its value in medical debt.
“So if you think about what a million dollars can do for someone, it's $20,000 of debt forgiveness for 50 people,” Strauss explained. “And that's 50 of our neighbors. That's 50 people who might be starting their lives over after an accident or an illness, or maybe a substance problem. That's 50 people who can buy a reliable car to get to a job. That's 50 people who could put a down payment on a house. And that's huge. That's life changing.”
Giving Back Because He First Gave Himself
“I really believe it is a powerful way we can witness to the forgiveness we find in Jesus,” said Rev. Matt Price, senior pastor at West View UMC. “We who have experienced God's grace can now share that grace with others in a very practical way.”
The church held a Sunday kick-off event to coincide with their annual Thanksgiving dinner, with all proceeds from the dinner going toward the campaign. Strauss even made dozens of homemade Christmas decorations to sell in support of the campaign.
“Erica’s only been a member of our church since this past June, but I told her that God must have led her to West View UMC just so she could be part of this campaign in such a powerful way,” said Rev. Price.
“Going through a Bible study recently on Galatians, I think about the phrase to ‘bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ’ which really resonated for me with this campaign,” Strauss said. “And to me personally, what that means is that we are not being told to make sure there's a good enough reason to do this, and we're not being told to think about some kind of means test to determine if someone really deserves it….We're just being told to do it.”
Your Generosity Helps Others
By supporting your local congregation’s outreach ministries, you impact lives of your surrounding communities and those around the world. No matter what part of the world we live in, your generosity can reach across oceans and help churches like West View UMC help those that are less fortunate.
excerpt from a story from the West View United Methodist Church, Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference
This story represents how United Methodist local churches through their Annual Conferences are living as Vital Congregations. The overarching purpose of The United Methodist Church is to "make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." A vital congregation is one that is effectively engaged in this mission. Together, we become a powerful force for healing, growth, and transformation—living out the Gospel in every corner of the globe.
