Nadine Wilson-Harris
A local loan company is seeking to help church goers pay tithes owed in the past, by offering as much as $400,000 in unsecured loan to those who can get a recommendation from their pastor and show they have the means to pay it back.
The loan, which is being offered by the Montego Bay, St James-based loan company can also be used to purchase new church clothes or tickets to attend a gospel concert. Dubbed, the “Back to Church Loan” the initiative has been widely circulated on social media, and according to one employee, has piqued the interest of many who have called to make inquiries.
Shadae Cardoza, a credit officer and marketing personnel at the financial institution, told the Freedom Come Rain Newspaper that those hoping to access the loan must show proof that they are employed and are getting paid through a bank. If they are self-employed, there would need to be proof of their business and an active bank account.
“This is just like a regular loan, but you can take it and do whatever purpose that you want,” she said.
“You have persons in church who haven’t paid their tithes for a long time, but they want to do it,” she explained.
The beneficiary of the $400,000 loan can expect to pay back $30,000 each month for the three years. That amounts to over $1 million for the 36 months.
The loan company, which has been operating for over 10 years, started advertising the church loan in late July.
“Persons have called in and they ask about the loan. Some persons call to ask if it is real; some persons for the requirements. We gave them the requirements, so we are just waiting for them to reach back out to us with all the necessary requirements so we can give that person the loan that they require,” Cardoza said.
A tithe is a 10% of a person’s income which is given to support their local church, however during the COVID-19 pandemic, some persons were unable to make their regular payments due to job lay-off or a drastic cut in salary.
While it is not known whether those who missed their regular contributions to local churches during the pandemic are being pressured to make payment now, one Jamaican-born christian now living in the US, said he was shocked to receive a letter from his church, outlining how much money he had outstanding for his tithe, and options available to make payment.
“I had only visited the church a few times, but they used the money that I paid when I visited to calculate how much I owed for the year,” he said.
Cardoza said this is the first time the company would be offering loans for those wanting to clear up their tithe backlog.
“You have persons who haven’t paid anything in church for a good while. Some persons want to go back to church and they want to start everything fresh,” she explained.