ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Stateline Church raised $40,000 over the holiday to erase medical bills of 9,100 stateline-area families.

The church raised the money in six weeks, and then turned to the non-profit group RIP Medical Debt to distribute the money.

Through their efforts, they were able to forgive nearly $17 million in bills. For every dollar raised, RIP Medical forgives $100 in debt.

Church leaders say it made for the perfect Christmas gift for the unsuspecting families.

“We, as a church, want to be Jesus to the community. We want to show the community his love. That’s why we do what we do, because of Jesus and we thought how cool would it be to very tangibly bring freedom and hope to some people in our community,” said associate pastor, Tyler Johnson.

Stateline Church, a non-denominational church located at 601 N Perryville Road, just celebrated its third anniversary.

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