Churchgoers gift more money, food at Christmastime to help those in need: study

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Monday, December 08, 2025

Christmas has long been a time of giving, and for church-going Protestants, this generally translates into giving more money and food to help those in need, a new study published by Lifeway Research shows.

The study, based on an online survey of a nationally pre-recruited panel of 1,200 American Protestant churchgoers, was conducted Sept. 2-7 with an error margin of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. It reflects a diverse profile of how Protestant churchgoers give based on factors such as race, sex, level of education, denominational affiliation, the size of their church and geographic location.

More than four-in-five Protestant churchgoers said they give more financial donations during Christmas, while 75% said they usually give new items to help others. The top item they reported giving last Christmas was food at a food bank.

“Many Americans traditionally give presents to others at Christmas, so we wondered if they also gave to charities during this season,” Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said in a statement provided to The Christian Post. “There is no shortage of opportunities and numerous requests for donations at Christmastime, and most churchgoers do give charitably at this time of year.”

Evangelicals were found to be more likely than non-Evangelicals to give financially to their church’s efforts to help those in need at a rate of 52% to 45%. Protestants who are Baptists were also more likely to donate to their churches’ efforts to help those in need than Methodists or Lutherans. 

In general, nearly half of churchgoers (49%) reported contributing to church efforts to help the needy. Some 37% reported giving more to their church’s missions offering, while 29% gave directly to a needy person. Just over a quarter, 26%, said they gave a bit more money to their church’s general fund.

A minority of Protestant churchgoers, 13%, said they didn’t give any extra donations during the Christmas season.

“Since almost all Protestant churchgoers attend at Christmastime, it is not surprising that they participate in financial giving opportunities at their church the most,” McConnell said. “And in the giving spirit, gifts in which the church helps others are far more popular than things that benefit the operation of the church itself.”

While only 14% of Protestant churchgoers gave additional financial contributions to their church’s capital or building campaign, the study found that men, black Americans, Protestants in the Midwest, graduate degree holders, Presbyterians, and those attending churches with attendance between 100 and 249 people are more likely to donate to the building fund.

Although giving a physical gift is seen as less efficient than providing a financial gift, McConnell suggested that donors who give items to a cause this Christmas tend to feel more invested in what they donate.

“Donating items to charitable causes at Christmastime may not be as efficient as financial gifts to the charity, but it is a fun way for people to be involved in the cause,” he said.

“Donors spend time as well as money purchasing items, so they are likely thinking longer about those they are helping. They are also often rewarded by seeing the collective donations of everyone, which affirms that they were part of something bigger than their own gift.”