There was a time in my life when I stopped going to church regularly.
My battle with depression, alcohol, and a busy life in my 20s often left me feeling isolated and disinclined to go consistently. I can’t help but think about how my lack of church community during this time pushed me further from helping and loving others, a pursuit that’s often helpful in combating inward-focused, emotional struggles.
It also wasn’t great for my generosity.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Because churches are nonprofit entities that function almost exclusively on donations, I knew skipping services was a bad move on my part. But because I wasn’t in church regularly, receiving reminders of the worthy causes funded by the church, I missed the needs that required funding to survive. I put my blinders on and skimped everywhere else so I could afford the less important things I wanted. When you aren’t in the building, it’s all too convenient to blow your budget on Amazon and promise you’ll tithe next month.
You may be thinking, I don’t have to go to church to be a generous person. That’s true, but the data shows going to church makes a big difference. Most tithing comes from those who attend church regularly, and the ripple effect on society is unbelievable.
Data and personal stories reveal that church begins to change people for the better from the inside out even when they don’t realize it. It can transform individuals and communities in ways that aren’t immediately obvious. For example, just attending Sunday services makes us significantly more generous, kind, and compassionate toward our neighbors. It creates a stronger bond among members of the local community and turns newspaper headlines into human faces and prayer requests into tear-stained cheeks you witness in sacred vulnerability.
Rippling Out
Churchgoing families tithe to their home churches, but that’s merely the starting point of their generosity. They also give exponentially more to other religious and nonreligious causes. A 2017 study from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy found that 62 percent of faithful religious families donate to charities outside the church, while only 46 percent of secular families do the same.
Just attending Sunday services makes us significantly more generous, kind, and compassionate toward our neighbors.
In the book American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, Robert Putnam and David Campbell share extensive research on how giving practices, from volunteering to donating money, are affected by a person’s faith.
They revealed 88 percent of people who give to religious causes also give to secular causes like the American Cancer Society, humanitarian aid missions, or even things like the arts or local education initiatives. Someone who attends church weekly has an 81 percent likelihood of donating to secular causes, while someone who doesn’t only has a 60 percent likelihood of donating to any cause at all.
Imagine how donations to both secular and faith-based causes will continue to decline as people leave faith communities en masse. Imagine how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected these things—extraordinarily.
People don’t decrease their giving on purpose when they aren’t in church. It’s not a conscious choice. They’re no less compassionate or caring; they’re simply less aware of being in the vicinity of need, and they lose the opportunity to easily expand their generosity.
Beyond Money
Volunteerism and the “good neighbor” landscape follow the same trend. A Gallup survey found religious Americans are far more likely to have volunteered their time and helped a stranger in the past month than the nonreligious. A Pew Research Center study on the civic and community engagement of religious Americans reported higher rates of volunteerism, giving, and civic participation among the faithful.
For those who regularly attend church, personal philanthropy and volunteerism skyrocket and empathy for people who are different increases. If there’s anything we need in our families, communities, and society right now, that’s it. We’re called to live, love, and serve here on earth to the best of our abilities, and church plays a part in that.
Going to church isn’t just about us and our personal spirituality. The church is how God works through his people and provides for the vulnerable. It’s how he moves heaven and earth to bring peace and freedom—and also maybe diapers, breakfast, and Christmas presents for children in impoverished families.
The church is where God inspires hearts and minds to go out and do good, where his Spirit starts planting seeds in our minds, reminders of what we’re here for: to love him and others.
The Gospel Coalition