Prince William Co. Church Provides $1.5 Million In Medical Debt Forgiveness

MANASSAS, VA — A church based in the Independent Hill area of Prince William County has taken steps to eliminate medical debt for regional families.

MOTIV8 Church, a Christian faith community founded in 2022, announced on Sunday that it fundraised $15,000 to cancel $1.5 million in medical debt. The church worked with a nonprofit partnership to buy medical debt portfolios that had been sold from hospitals to collection agencies. When the church completed the purchase, it forgave the total amounts of medical debt owed.

"We saw this as a chance to do what Jesus did—step in and lift burdens," said Lead Pastor Marcus St. Julien. "We didn’t want recognition—we wanted to restore hope."

"We wanted to show that compassion still exists, and that God still answers prayers—sometimes through people," added Pastor Patience St. Julien, creative pastor at the church.

The church estimates that hundreds of residents around the region will be impacted by the medical debt cancellation. The affected people will receive letters notifying them that the debt was eliminated, with no applications and actions needed.

The fundraising was done through the church's Faith to Freedom campaign, which aims to show "faith, generosity, and the power of a church that chooses people over comfort." The church opted to help residents with medical debt instead of replacing air conditioning systems after five of its six air conditioning units failed.

Debt buyers can purchase debt for a fraction of the amount owed due to a decreasing likelihood of the debt being paid. Some charities have bought debt from collections with the intention of providing debt forgiveness.

In 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau noted that 15 million Americans have medical debt in collections totaling $49 billion that shows up in their credit reports. The bureau noted the average medical debt is more than $3,100, up from a previous average of $2,000.