Though the Holy Bible specifically tells Christians to avoid going into debt (“Owe no man any thing,…” Romans 13:8), this is virtually impossible to do in our modern world. Like it or not, debt is very much part and parcel of living in a modern Western society and there is very little that can be done to avoid it. Further, since the Bible makes it clear that simply defaulting on your debt is not an acceptable alternative for a good Christian, many now find themselves trying to find help with Christian debt relief, especially in the current economic situation.
Beyond the simple debt and difficulty with paying the owed amounts back, there is also a plague of immoral scam artists out there, seeking to take advantage of people – especially Christians – trying to do the right thing. This is a normal occurrence in times of economic turmoil and downturn, but this simple reality does not prevent many people for falling into these scams and tricks anyway. The con artists and scam operators like Christian targets in particular since they know that most will pay what they agree to and that they will probably deal honestly and directly. Therefore, the Christian looking for help with debt relief and credit restoration has to be particularly careful about who they choose to deal with.
Generally speaking, the same common sense indicators and warning signs that you would use to avoid any scam should be applied when looking for legitimate Christian ministries and support services that can help with debt relief. Regardless of how much scripture they spout, keep an eye on what they are actually asking you to do and decide whether or not this is really in best interest and whether or not you have means of recourse should things not go as expected. As a general rule, if the services seem to good to be true or they ask for a lot of money before providing any actual service, Christians should be wary.