Giving to Christian causes has increased in spite of the recession, according to figures from a Christian financial support services charity.

More than £24m has been given to Christian organisations such as charities, churches and mission workers since October last year, when the financial crisis began to significantly worsen, charity Stewardship has revealed.

That figure is up 3 per cent on the same six-month period in 2007-2008.

It seems an ongoing trend. In the year ending September 2008, giving to these organisations increased by 8 per cent, up to £49m. The figures come from Stewardship’s 30,000 ‘sovereign accounts’, used by people to give to Christian charities in a tax-effective manner.

David Jones, chief executive of Stewardship, conceded that those with sovereign accounts “tend to have a planned approach to their giving” and as a result “are less likely to see giving as a discretionary expenditure and cut back in difficult times”.

The news comes as the charity warns of the impact the falling value of the pound has had on the ability to fund missionary work internationally, apparently in some places lowering the value of British donations by 30 per cent. The organisation is calling on churches and other Christian bodies to calculate the impact the recession is having on their income.

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Giving to Christian charities on the rise

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Who's Who: Celina Ribeiro