Most Christians want to give consistently. Only about ⅓ do.

At offering time in many churches, worshippers often hear that God loves a cheerful giver. A new national study suggests that while generosity remains strong among Christians, there is a significant gap between believers’ intentions and their actual giving habits.

Researchers with the faith-based giving platform Givelify found that while 95% of Christian donors surveyed said they aspire to give consistently, only about 30% currently do. Even so, despite economic uncertainty, most Christians remain optimistic about supporting their churches financially.

The data, released last week, are part of Givelify’s latest research on faith-based generosity and giving behavior. Researchers say the findings could help churches better understand donor motivations while potentially unlocking billions of dollars in additional support for congregations and community ministries.

Financial challenges

“What we’re seeing here is that it’s the consistency that is not matching the aspirations of people,” said Wale Mafolasire, founder and chief executive officer of Givelify. “The intention is there, but when we look at what the data shows, only 30% of the people are actually doing what they intend to do.”

The findings are especially relevant to the Black church, which has long played an expanded role in addressing food insecurity, housing instability, education and community development. At the same time, declining membership and changing attitudes toward tithing among younger generations continue to create financial challenges.

The study surveyed nearly 2,000 Christian donors and almost 900 church leaders, including pastors, associate pastors and financial administrators. Researchers said the sample included strong representation from Black churches and Black donors.

Generosity ‘alive and well’

Researchers estimate that even modest improvements in giving consistency could generate up to $30 billion in additional annual giving nationwide, or roughly $50,000 more per church each year. Fifty-seven percent of churches reported increased year-over-year giving, and most expect giving to continue growing in 2026.

Giving also continues to move online, with 81% of donors using digital or mobile platforms.

“Generosity is alive and well,” Mafolasire said. “Pastors are optimistic about it, churchgoers are optimistic about it, looking into the future.”

Consistency defined

The study defines a “consistent giver” as someone who contributes at least once a month for at least nine months of the year, rather than someone who simply tithes or makes recurring donations.

“We’re introducing a new definition for consistent giving so that everybody can be on the same page,” Mafolasire said. “We’re defining that as giving one or more times a month, or most months in a year.”

David King of Indiana University’s Lake Institute on Faith & Giving said the definition emerged from donor responses rather than researchers’ assumptions.

“It wasn’t something that we had preconceived and came in there with,” King said. “The clear definition sort of bubbled up from what the data was saying back to us.”

‘Life happens’

Researchers said donors wanted a definition that recognized life’s inevitable interruptions.

“Life happens,” Mafolasire said. “The identity of someone who has been doing this thing consistently—they do not want to lose that identity because life happened one or more times in a year.”

The study also found a disconnect between church leaders and donor behavior. While actual consistency averaged about 30%, pastors estimated that roughly 54% of their congregations gave consistently, a gap researchers attributed to pastoral optimism and limited visibility into individual giving patterns.

Automatic or intentional

Researchers also challenged assumptions about recurring electronic giving. Although many church leaders equate automatic donations with consistent stewardship, the study found recurring gifts alone do not guarantee regular giving.

“We saw that pastors equated consistent giving to automatic recurring giving,” Mafolasire said. “The data shows us that even with recurring givers, the rate of consistency is still 30%.”

Only about 17% of donors preferred a “set it and forget it” approach through automatic recurring gifts.

Giving is good

Researchers identified four donor profiles to help churches tailor stewardship efforts.

The largest group, “steady givers,” accounted for about 27% of donors and consistently supported their churches. Another 21% were “awakening givers,” who wanted to give consistently but cited financial constraints. Researchers also identified “devoted givers,” who regularly contributed financially and through volunteer service.

“We find that their level of spirituality tends to be at the highest of all four groups,” Mafolasire said.

King said churches should emphasize encouragement over pressure, helping people see generosity as part of spiritual growth rather than simply a financial obligation.

“Giving is not only good for the church and the church’s budget,” King said. “It’s good for the giver.”

This story originally appeared here.

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