What Happened to Generosity?

 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 

 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 NRSVue

1 We give thee but thine own, what e'er the gift may be;

all that we have is thine alone, a trust, O God, from thee.

2 May we thy bounties thus as stewards true receive,

and gladly, as thou blessest us, to thee our first-fruits give.

                                     Voices United 543

 In the earlier years of my ministry in the United Church I had generosity envy regarding our Evangelical neighbours. Mainline denominations such as the UCC were statistically parsimonious when it came to financial giving, and only the Anglicans were cheaper. Evangelicals were encouraged to contribute a biblical tithe, ten percent of their income, so the Baptists and the Pentecostals always looked good in national surveys. Were they giving ten percent? Who knows, but they gave more per capita?

I saw an article about recent stats from the United States indicating that Evangelical giving 

 According to a recent study, the proportion of evangelicals giving to church fell 13 percentage points from 2021, constituting a 17% decrease in giving.

Sixty-one percent (61%) of evangelicals gave to their local church in the 12 months prior to the study. Unfortunately, that percentage is down from 2021, when 74% of evangelicals gave to the local church. The percentage of evangelicals who gave to a nonprofit or ministry outside of church also fell from 58% in 2021 to 50% in 2024.

Among the more important discoveries in the report:

 The average evangelical donor gives 2.8% of household income to church, down from 3.2% in 2021.

· Between church and charity, the average evangelical donor’s generosity is 3.3% of household income, down from an average of 4% three years ago.

 Evangelicals who regularly read and study the Bible, pray, attend worship, and attend small group are about twice as likely to give to charity and three times as likely to give to church as those who infrequently or never engage in spiritual activities.

Average total generosity among donors is 5.1% of household income when spiritual engagement is full; 3.6% when it is high; 3.1% at moderate; and just 1.8% when spiritual engagement is low/none.

The average amount given to church or charity (or both) over the past 12 months was down 15% from 2021.

While there are likely a bunch of factors contributing to this decline I have to wonder if the fact that a growing number of people in the States who identify as evangelical are using quasi-faith, what has been described ominously as Christo-facism, to justify their negative views toward minorities and the LGBTQ2S+ community. Many do not darken the door of a church, nor are they do seem to pay attention to the teachings of Jesus. 

I highlighted the one finding that those who actually worship and pray together are far more inclined to be generous. I never wanted church to be a place where people were pressured or coerced into giving. At the same time, it is the community where we hear the Good News about God's ultimate generosity in Jesus and apprentice to be generous ourselves in every aspect of our lives.  

We can all consider how we are living love through our gifts, including what we do with our money.