CHURCHES NEED TO DO MORE ABOUT LEGACY GIVING ACCORDING TO A NEW SURVEY

60,000 Christians will die this year, yet many churches are not encouraging them to leave a legacy, according to Christian Legacy – a consortium of six charities.

The survey Christian Charities: Future Funding Gap? carried out by Christian Legacy found that although the majority of churches (85%) strongly emphasise the need for committed giving; very few talk to their congregations about the importance of leaving a legacy to a Christian charity (18%).

The survey analysed 1400 responses from a questionnaire sent out to 150,000 people, in nine Christian publications. It found that 19% of Christians had never thought about the idea of Christian legacy giving.

Last year, for the first time legacy income outstripped donations to charities, yet it seems that many church leaders have been slow to pick up on this.
In addition, nearly a quarter of those who responded said they would be keen to leave a legacy to the Christian magazines they enjoy reading.

Christian Legacy also believes that Christian charities do not spend anywhere near as much as their secular counterparts on legacy promotion in the media.

John Ranford, Bible Society’s Development Officer speaking on behalf of the consortium of charities, said ‘Last year for the first time, charities received more from legacies than donations. That’s why it’s vital the Church wakes up to the need to talk openly about the need for legacies.
‘With most Christians at pensionable age, its absurd that Churches are pressing people very hard to give from their income – while ignoring the huge wealth that Christians possess in the value of their homes. Christian Legacy sees an urgent need to put legacies back into the church’s vocabulary.‘