In What the 2025 Generosity Report reveals about Christian giving in the UK, 3rd Sector Mission Control digs into earlier findings from Stewardship’s generosity research, exploring how Christians choose between giving to churches, charities and other ministries – and what those choices reveal.
What the 2025 Generosity Report reveals about Christian giving in the UK (3rd Sector Mission Control)What stood out to us
Christians are navigating a crowded landscape. Many Christians are giving to a mix of local churches, national charities, international missions and informal causes. Their “giving map” is complex.
Giving decisions are shaped by identity as much as by appeals. People often give where they feel their faith, values and story are most clearly reflected.
There can be unspoken tension between church and charity giving. Some leaders worry that supporting charities might reduce church giving, and vice versa, even when supporters don’t see it that way.
Why this matters for leaders
If you are a Christian charity or mission agency, you are part of a wider ecosystem of faith-driven giving. That’s easy to forget when you’re under pressure to hit your own targets. This article is a helpful reminder that supporters are not starting with your income line; they’re starting with their call to live generously, and then working out what faithfulness looks like in practice.
Supporters start with their call to live generously, then work out what faithfulness looks like.
For leadership teams, that should prompt some honest questions: how do we talk about church giving when we are a charity? How do we talk about charity giving when we are a church? Are we asking people to choose between commitments they experience as complementary, not competing?
A clearer view of that whole picture helps you find language and positioning that honours supporters’ wider commitments, rather than framing your work as an exception or a rival. That, in turn, is more likely to build the kind of trust generosity grows in.
