Millennial Christians are more generous with money than older generations, survey shows

Millennial Christians are more generous with their money than older generations, and they are more likely to be bigger church givers, according to a new study.

A recent survey by the Barna Group found that Millennials are 31 percent more likely to prioritize providing for a family above other financial goals, compared to 13 percent of Elders and 18 percent of Gen-Xers and Boomers.

The study, titled "Christians' Financial Motivations Matter," examined motivations behind various causes, such as family needs, charitable giving and serving God.

To analyze the financial goal of Christians, Barna classified Americans into two groups: Givers and Keepers. Givers were defined as those with "others-focused" goals, while keepers are motivated by "self-focused" goals.

Leading in the Givers category are Millennials at 56 percent, followed by Elders at 55 percent. Boomers came in third at 50 percent, followed by Gen-Xers at 46 percent.

The survey found that 43 percent of Givers prioritize family needs, while 23 percent give to charity. Twenty percent want to serve God with their money, while 20 percent want to leave a legacy for others.

In the Keepers category, Gen-Xers came in first at 37 percent, followed by Millennials at 35 percent, Boomers at 33 percent and Elders at 25 percent.

Forty-two percent of Keepers said they want to support a lifestyle, while 37 percent said their goal is to be content. Sixteen percent said they want to be debt free, and five percent want to show others how hard they work.

Brian Kluth, a bestselling author and founder of State of the Plate Report, told Baptist News Global that younger generation of Christians tend to be more spontaneous when it comes to giving to the Church.

He noted that Millennials are well known for their openness in helping family members, friends, churches and numerous causes, although they do not do so with a financial plan.

Kluth, however, asserted that the unstructured giving of Millennials is often the result of poor planning by churches and other organizations that depend on contributions.

The author argued that asking for check or cash contributions leaves out younger generations because most of them do not carry checkbooks or cash.

"We have not made it easy for Millennials to be systematic givers. So they lean toward more spontaneous giving," he said.

Kluth's 2016 State of the Plate report found that some congregations are facing serious giving issues.

Between 2015 and 2016, nearly 60 percent of churches surveyed said giving had either flat-lined or decreased, and only 41 percent of congregations reported an increase of five percent in giving.