Churchgoers in America are generous people; they help make up almost a quarter of the nation's giving to developing countries. Churches, ministries and other religious groups gave a total of $8.6 billion to foreign efforts in 2007.

That figure comes from a study by Hudson Institute's Center for Global Prosperity (CGP), which found that church donations to international relief organizations based in the U.S. jumped 17% from 2006 to the following year, with 74% of American congregations giving toward global aid agencies.

The average church gave $11,960, and more than a quarter gave directly to programs in other countries for a combined $3.3 billion. Other means of church giving included short-term mission or service trips (34% of all congregations), as well as long-term development projects (30%) that contributed more than $1.4 billion to aid countries.

"Together, religious organizations and PVOs [private and voluntary organizations], including volunteers to international development causes, gave more in aid to developing countries than the U.S. government did in 2007," said Carol Adelman, director of the CGP. "Religious congregations ... are becoming major players in the world of international development, bringing new ideas, dollars and people to the table to help the world's poor."

Benefiting the most from American goodwill were Latin America and the Caribbean (36%); Asia and the Pacific (29%); and sub-Saharan Africa (21%). A third of congregational giving went toward education, while 26% was allotted for health and medical projects.

Source: Ministry Today. Read more at http://www.ministrytodaymag.com/index.php/ministry-news/65-news-main/18449-giving-to-the-world.

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