A new online giving facility has seen more than a £250,000 donated by Christians in the first three months since its launch.

The new facility, provided by Stewardship, opened its doors to a small number of existing account members in a low key launch in July.

The average donation made so far is over £250, more than double the figure given on average by Stewardship’s account members.

The early success has caused Stewardship to accelerate login invitations to the rest of its giving community and open the doors to new members.

Mike O’Neill, CEO of Stewardship said "People clearly trust us with their giving. This is more than just an online donation facility though. This is the most significant giving development in the UK for the Christian community."

In order to make online donations, visitors to the Stewardship website will need to open a charitable giving account which works a bit like a bank account. They can then credit their accounts online by credit/debit card, and make donation requests to Stewardship, who subsequently make grants.

Grants can be made to over 17,000 registered recipients including secular charities as well as churches, ministries and Christian workers around the world.

 In the last 12 months Stewardship made grants totalling more than £45m.

The recession has not yet impacted Christian giving as some had feared it might.

Giving increased by more than 8 per cent according to Stewardship’s own figures during the last 12 months.