In its Generosity Report 2026, Stewardship offers one of the clearest current pictures of how UK Christians give – and what shapes that generosity. Drawing on a survey of over 6,000 Christians, the report explores the links between trust, teaching and long-term giving behaviour.
Generosity Report 2026 – Exploring Christian giving in the UKWhat stood out to us
Trust and generosity move together. Stewardship finds a strong correlation between trust and giving: Christians who trust their church or chosen organisations “a lot” are more likely to give regularly and sacrificially. Trust is tied to perceived integrity, transparency and accountability, not just theological agreement.
Teaching builds both trust and joy. Regular, thoughtful teaching on generosity is strongly associated with higher trust and more joyful giving; those who have heard teaching on generosity in the last year are among the most generous and positive about their giving.
Committed and younger Christians are quietly very generous. Committed Christians give an average of about 10% of their income – more than four times the UK giving average – and younger adults who practise their faith regularly give the highest proportion of all.
Why this matters for Christian leaders
For churches and Christian charities, this report is a reminder that generosity is less about capacity, more about trust. People are deciding who they trust with their giving just as much as how much they can afford. That puts everyday communication – how you talk about money, share impact and acknowledge weakness – right at the heart of discipleship, not off to the side as “fundraising.”
It also quietly challenges some common assumptions. Younger Christians are not the reluctant givers many imagine; they are already giving sacrificially and looking for help to make sense of generosity in a complex world. If your plans still treat them as disengaged, you will design the wrong conversations.
Generosity is less about capacity, more about trust.
For confident teams, the temptation will be to respond with more frequent or more urgent appeals. The wiser response, suggested by this report, is to strengthen the long-term story: clear teaching, transparent communication and consistent alignment between what you say and what you do. That is slow work – but it is exactly the work that builds the kind of trust generosity grows in.
