Blog
Yesterday, Dr. Bill Enright, Executive Director of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, visited Fuller. Bill’s a Fuller alum and he gave a fantastic 2 hour presentation on Religious Giving.
Some interesting findings that he quoted from a study by Christian Smith and Michael Emerson on the giving patterns of U.S. Christians described in their book, Passing the Plate:
1. One out of five American Christians give nothing to church, parachurch, or nonreligious charities. Not a cent.
To be honest, I feared it would be higher.
2. Christians tend to give 1-2% of their total income.
And this research was conducted before our current economic avalanche. It’s reasonable to assume the giving patterns will decline, as they have historically tended to.
I could get on a soapbox about the ongoing needs of ministries, including FYI. I could quote Scripture verse after Scripture verse about generosity.
But instead I’m mostly just sad; sad that so many adults are not experiencing the joy of financially investing in God’s work in the world. At one of our church services at our church, the person announcing the offering says, “It’s time to give” and it’s become a ritual for the entire congregation to applaud. I like that.
Trackback URL: http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/2009/03/how-much-christians-give/trackback/
Leave a Reply