Stewardship and Scripture Union have become the latest charities to join the Christian Legacy Consortium, the group which promotes legacy giving among Christians.

The pair are the seventh and eighth members, joining Bible Society, Care for the Family, CMS, the Leprosy Mission, Livability, and Tearfund.

Welcoming the news, Annette Bull of Tearfund said: “It’s great to have Scripture Union and Stewardship on board. Both have such strong roots within the church-based sector and this further builds solidarity as we all seek to maximise the potential of long-term legacy giving.”

Research by Legacy Foresight shows that although 16 per cent of all legacy gifts are faith-based, this income fell much more sharply in 2008/9 to 2009/10 than that of the legacy market as a whole.

“The decline in the number of church-goers did even out last year and our own research shows that Christians are open to the idea of legacy giving,” said Alastair Emblem, legacy marketing manager at Livability.

“We need to encourage and increase church teaching about legacy giving. Research indicates it is taught in as few as 17 per cent of churches.”