27% of Christian workers earn less than 10,000 pounds, our survey reports

Our recent international survey of full-time Christian mission workers has revealed that 27% of those surveyed rely on an annual income of £10,000 or below.

Of those Christian workers who took part, the average income for survey respondents was revealed to stand in the region of £15,000 per year.  This is at a time when the average salary in the UK is reported to be £27,415 (Source: PayScale).

When queried on perceptions of a ‘suitable’ level of income; mission workers regarded an annual income in the region of £21,500 would be adequate in meeting their financial needs and those of their family. The results of the survey conducted by Christian charity Stewardship, an organisation who supports a network of over 2500 individuals in or studying for ministry, serve as a reminder that the financial needs of many Christian mission workers around the world are not being sufficiently met.

Michael O’Neill, Chief Executive of Stewardship comments;

“The figures from our latest international survey suggests that a large percentage of Christian mission workers are surviving on an income which is a third less than they require.  As an organisation we are committed to seeing mission work generously resourced, however these survey results will certainly challenge Christian mission workers, their supporters, sending agencies and churches and reveals that we still have a long way to go.”

Read the full survey breakdown here.

our Christian Worker Survey: the results

At the beginning of the year we asked some of our registered Christian Workers to answer a few questions and help us make some wise decisions.  We were delighted that over 200 of them did.

You can find the full report here, but we pulled out three key statistics that are particularly illuminating:

• A third of Christian Workers said that money is the biggest worry in ministry

• Only half of them are able to set aside anything for the future

• Over half of them have a degree of difficulty in communicating the need for personal expenses

The responses in this survey have clearly indicated that there are a number of issues commonly facing Christian Workers which need to be unpacked further.

If you support a Christian Worker through your giving, have you considered how they might be planning to fund a pension? Do you hear them speak openly about any financial difficulty they may be experiencing?

If you are a Christian Worker, can you identify with any of the key findings? What would you say are the financial challenges you'd most like to communicate to your supporters?

If you receive our Piggy Bank newsletter because you are a Christian Worker or Bible College Student, please click on the link inside the latest edition to complete the second survey - your views really will help to shape the services that Stewardship provides to recipients. Results of the second survey will be available later in the year.