# Church Giving Statistics for 2025: Attendance Rose, Giving Lagged

Median worship attendance rose in 2025 while giving to religion fell 0.2% after inflation. The surveys that seem to disagree are measuring different things, and together they point to how consistently people give.

## Key takeaways
- Median in-person worship attendance rose to 70 people in 2025, the first gain in the 25 years the Faith Communities Today survey has tracked it (Hartford Institute for Religion Research, 7,453 congregations).
- Giving to religion reached an estimated $151.58 billion in 2025, up 2.4% in current dollars but down 0.2% after inflation (Giving USA 2026).
- Protestant pastors reported that average church offerings rose 2.1% from 2024 to 2025 while inflation ran 2.9%, and 20% said offerings fell (Lifeway Research, 1,003 pastors, September 2025).
- Hartford's median congregational income rose from $120,000 in 2020 to $205,000 in 2025, above the $151,087 needed to keep pace with inflation, but that five-year median cannot isolate the single year 2025.
- In Givelify's 2026 Giving in Faith report (vendor research with the Lake Institute), 95% of faith-based donors said they want to give at least monthly, but only about 30% give consistently, which suggests church finance teams watch consistency as well as attendance.

Church giving statistics for 2025 show more people in worship and fewer real dollars in the offering. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research's 2025 congregational survey (the EPIC project, part of the Faith Communities Today collaboration) of 7,453 congregations, fielded from September to December 2025, found that median in-person worship attendance rose to 70 people, the first gain in the 25 years the survey has tracked the figure, according to [Hartford's April 2026 release](https://www.hartfordinternational.edu/news-events/news/hirr-report-shows-first-rise-us-congregation-attendance-25-years-uneven-recovery). In the same year, giving to religion reached an estimated $151.58 billion, about 24.6% of all U.S. giving (computed from Giving USA 2026's totals), up 2.4% in current dollars but roughly flat after inflation (-0.2%), according to [Giving USA 2026](https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-charitable-giving-rose-to-617-20-billion-in-2025-surpassing-the-600-billion-mark-for-the-first-time/). Higher attendance did not translate into more purchasing power for congregations. The rest of this article shows why the major 2025 surveys appear to disagree, and why the best explanation is how consistently each attender gives rather than how many people attend.

## What do the 2025 church giving statistics show?

The most direct measure of the year comes from [Lifeway Research's telephone survey of 1,003 Protestant pastors](https://research.lifeway.com/2025/10/14/pastors-split-on-the-economys-impact-on-their-churches/), conducted September 2 to 24, 2025, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 points. Pastors reported that the average church's offerings rose 2.1% compared with 2024, while inflation over the same period was 2.9%. In plain terms, the average church collected slightly more dollars and could buy slightly less with them. The distribution matters as much as the average: 37% of pastors said giving was up from 2024, 39% said it was about the same, and 20% said it was down. Against their own budgets, 46% of pastors said giving was on target, 27% said it was below budget, and 24% said it was above.

**2.1% vs 2.9%** — average growth in church offerings from 2024 to 2025, against inflation over the same period, as reported by 1,003 Protestant pastors ([Lifeway Research, September 2025 survey](https://research.lifeway.com/2025/10/14/pastors-split-on-the-economys-impact-on-their-churches/))

The pastors were also less worried than a year earlier. In 2025, 49% said the economy was hurting their church, down from 66% in Lifeway's 2024 survey. Fewer pastors felt economic pressure, yet the average offering still did not keep pace with prices. In our reading, that combination suggests the economy was not the main constraint on church giving in 2025, although the survey did not test other causes.

## Did church attendance really rise in 2025?

Yes, with limits the researchers state themselves. In the [full Hartford report](https://www.covidreligionresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Signs-of-Rebound-Amid-Uneven-Recovery-The-Changing-Congregational-Landscape-1-1.pdf), median attendance was 65 just before the pandemic, fell to a low of 45 in 2021, and reached 70 in 2025 (page 5, Figure 2). The report also notes that 70 remains far below the median of 137 attenders recorded in 2000 (page 6), and the release describes the 2025 picture as "a story of recalibration" rather than revival. Mainline Protestant congregations were still declining, and much of the growth the researchers observed was people moving between congregations rather than new people entering congregational life.

**70** — median in-person worship attendance per congregation in 2025, up from 65 before the pandemic and the first gain in 25 years of tracking ([Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Signs of Rebound Amid Uneven Recovery (2025 data)](https://www.hartfordinternational.edu/news-events/news/hirr-report-shows-first-rise-us-congregation-attendance-25-years-uneven-recovery))

## Why do the church giving surveys seem to disagree?

Hartford's report contains the most optimistic giving number of the year. Median congregational income rose from $120,000 in 2020 to $205,000 in 2025, while the income a congregation would have needed simply to keep pace with inflation since 2020 was $151,087 (page 9, Figure 4). Read alone, that looks like strong real growth, which seems to contradict Lifeway and Giving USA. The three sources are measuring different things over different periods, as the table below sets out.

What each major 2025 church giving source measured (all figures from the sources linked in this article)

| Source | Who was measured | Time window | What was measured | Finding |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hartford Institute / Faith Communities Today | Leaders of 7,453 congregations, all traditions, weighted | 2020 to 2025 | Median total congregational income | $120,000 to $205,000, above the $151,087 inflation pace |
| Lifeway Research | 1,003 Protestant pastors | 2024 to 2025 | Average change in offerings | +2.1% against 2.9% inflation |
| Giving USA 2026 | National estimate from tax and economic models | 2024 to 2025 | All giving to religious organizations | $151.58 billion, +2.4% current, -0.2% after inflation |
| Givelify 2026 report with the Lake Institute (vendor research) | 1,987 Christian donors and 894 church leaders | Early 2026 survey | Consistency of individual giving | 95% want to give at least monthly, about 30% give consistently |

Three differences account for most of the apparent conflict. First, the time windows differ. Hartford compares 2025 with 2020, a year when many congregations had stopped meeting in person, so part of its five-year rise is recovery from a low starting point, and a five-year median cannot show what happened between 2024 and 2025 alone. Lifeway and Giving USA both measure that single year. Second, the measures differ. Hartford reports total income as described by congregational leaders, and the report notes that expenses rose too, with median expenditures climbing from $108,000 in 2020 to $199,000 in 2025 (page 11), which the report attributes largely to higher operating costs, particularly insurance. Third, the samples differ: Lifeway asks only Protestant pastors, while Giving USA's figure is a model estimate that it revises in later editions. The two sources that measure 2025 by itself agree with each other: church giving that year grew at or below the rate of inflation.

> **How current are these numbers?**
>
> Lifeway's survey was fielded in September 2025, before year-end giving, and Lifeway usually refreshes it each fall, so check for a newer edition. Hartford's fieldwork ran from September to December 2025 and relies on leaders' own reports. Giving USA's 2025 estimates are the first published figures and are often revised. The Givelify research comes from a company that sells church-giving software, and its donor sample is Christian faith-based donors, who give to churches and to other groups.

## If attendance rose, why did real church giving stall?

One plausible explanation, which no survey here tests directly, is consistency: the share of people who give regularly, month after month, rather than occasionally. In [Givelify's 2026 Giving in Faith report](https://www.givelify.com/giving-in-faith/consistent-giving-model), produced with support from the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, 95% of faith-based donors said they want to give at least monthly, but only about 30% maintain a consistent giving pattern. The survey covered 1,987 Christian faith-based donors and 894 church leaders in early 2026, and church leaders estimated that about 53% of their congregants give consistently, according to [Givelify's press release distributed through Religion News Service's press-release service](https://religionnews.com/2026/06/09/new-research-reveals-gap-between-christians-generosity-aspirations-and-giving-practices/). Givelify sells church-giving software, so treat these as vendor figures. The leaders' 53% estimate is well above the 30% measured for donors. A congregation can add attenders without adding many consistent givers, and in that case attendance rises while offerings barely move.

**95% vs 30%** — of faith-based donors who say they want to give at least monthly, against the share who give consistently (Givelify vendor research, 2026) ([Givelify press release (via RNS Press Release Distribution Service), Giving in Faith report with the Lake Institute](https://religionnews.com/2026/06/09/new-research-reveals-gap-between-christians-generosity-aspirations-and-giving-practices/))

Hartford's report points the same direction from the congregation's side. About 85% of congregational income comes from participant contributions, the same share as in 2020 (page 10). The share of congregations offering online or electronic giving rose from 58% in 2020 to 76% in 2025, and the share of contributions received electronically rose from 10% to 40%. Congregations that make greater use of online giving tools report higher income even after accounting for congregation size. That is a correlation, not proof that online giving causes higher income, but it fits the consistency explanation: a recurring online gift continues on weeks when the giver is traveling, sick, or simply not in the building.

For many congregations, giving is an act of worship and a spiritual discipline, and none of these statistics measure its meaning. They describe patterns that help a church's finance team plan honestly and serve its people well.

## What do these statistics mean for one church's budget?

Consider a fictional congregation, Maple Hollow Community Church, which received $300,000 in offerings in 2024. The figures below are illustrative and apply Lifeway's reported averages to show the arithmetic, not to predict any real church's results.

Illustrative: a $300,000 church at Lifeway's average 2025 offering growth versus inflation (hypothetical congregation)

| Scenario | 2025 offerings | Change from 2024 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Offerings grow 2.1% (Lifeway average) | $306,300 | +$6,300 |
| Offerings grow 2.9% (inflation pace) | $308,700 | +$8,700 |
| Gap in purchasing power | $2,400 short | Costs rose faster than giving |

A $2,400 shortfall is small in one year, but it repeats. If offerings trail inflation by 0.8 points every year, a church's real budget shrinks steadily even as its board sees dollar totals rise, and Hartford's expense figures show that costs such as insurance have been rising quickly. The practical steps below follow from the statistics:

1. Compare your offering growth to inflation every year, not only to last year's dollars. Lifeway's 2.9% inflation figure for 2025 is a reasonable benchmark to start with.
2. Count consistent givers, not attenders. Choose your own rule, such as households that gave in at least ten of the last twelve months (our suggestion, not a definition from any study cited here), and track that count the way you track attendance.
3. Offer recurring online giving and invite people to use it. Hartford found that congregations using online tools more heavily report higher income, even accounting for size.
4. Welcome new attenders into giving gently and specifically, with a clear way to give a second time. The [second-gift guide](https://donorinsights.com/articles/second-gift-window) covers why, across nonprofits, a second gift is the point where occasional givers start to become steady ones.
5. Report back on what gifts accomplished. People who can see what their giving made possible have a reason to keep giving when attendance fluctuates.

For the broader picture of 2025 giving, including how religion compares with other causes, see our [Giving USA 2026 breakdown](https://donorinsights.com/articles/giving-usa-2026). Donor Insights reads a church's own giving records the way a fund reads a portfolio, so the count of consistent givers and the real growth rate of offerings become numbers a finance team can watch month by month. The [methodology](https://donorinsights.com/methodology) starts from your own giving records, and the same [platform](https://donorinsights.com/platform) shows whether this year's new attenders are becoming next year's steady givers.

## FAQ

**Did church giving increase in 2025?**

In dollars, slightly. Protestant pastors surveyed by Lifeway Research reported average offerings up 2.1% from 2024, and Giving USA estimated giving to religion up 2.4% in current dollars. After inflation, both measures were flat or down: Lifeway's 2.1% trailed 2.9% inflation, and Giving USA's figure was down 0.2% in real terms.

**Did church attendance increase in 2025?**

Yes. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research found median in-person attendance of 70 in 2025, up from 65 before the pandemic and the first gain in 25 years of tracking. The researchers caution that it is a recalibration rather than a revival, and much of the growth came from people moving between congregations.

**What is the median income of a congregation?**

Hartford's 2025 survey of 7,453 congregations put median congregational income at $205,000, up from $120,000 in 2020. Median expenses rose from $108,000 to $199,000 over the same period, so much of the income gain went to higher costs.

**Why do different church giving surveys give different answers?**

They measure different things. Hartford reports five-year change in median total income from congregational leaders, Lifeway reports one-year change in offerings from Protestant pastors, and Giving USA models all giving to religious organizations nationally. For 2025 alone, the one-year sources agree that giving did not outpace inflation.

**How many churches offer online giving?**

Hartford's 2025 survey found 76% of congregations offer online or electronic giving, up from 58% in 2020, and about 40% of contributions now arrive electronically. Congregations that use online giving more heavily report higher income, though that is a correlation rather than proof of cause.

## Sources
- [Givelify Philanthropic Research & Insights (2026). The Consistent Giving Model, 2026 Giving in Faith Report. Vendor research with the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving.](https://www.givelify.com/giving-in-faith/consistent-giving-model)
- [Hartford Institute for Religion Research (2026). Signs of Rebound Amid Uneven Recovery, release. Faith Communities Today, 7,453 congregations, fieldwork Sept-Dec 2025.](https://www.hartfordinternational.edu/news-events/news/hirr-report-shows-first-rise-us-congregation-attendance-25-years-uneven-recovery)
- [Hartford Institute for Religion Research (2026). Signs of Rebound Amid Uneven Recovery, full report PDF. Figures 2 and 4, pages 5-11. 2025 data.](https://www.covidreligionresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Signs-of-Rebound-Amid-Uneven-Recovery-The-Changing-Congregational-Landscape-1-1.pdf)
- [Lifeway Research (2025). Pastors Split on the Economy's Impact on Their Churches. Telephone survey of 1,003 Protestant pastors, Sept 2-24, 2025.](https://research.lifeway.com/2025/10/14/pastors-split-on-the-economys-impact-on-their-churches/)
- [Giving USA (2026). Giving USA 2026: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2025, release. Researched by the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. 2025 data.](https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-charitable-giving-rose-to-617-20-billion-in-2025-surpassing-the-600-billion-mark-for-the-first-time/)
- [Givelify with the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving (2026). Giving in Faith: Rethinking Generosity through Consistent Giving, press release distributed by RNS Press Release Distribution Service. 1,987 Christian donors and 894 church leaders, early-2026 survey. Vendor research.](https://religionnews.com/2026/06/09/new-research-reveals-gap-between-christians-generosity-aspirations-and-giving-practices/)

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