Generosity appears to be alive and well in the Christian community today. In fact, almost nine in 10 practicing Christians (88%) say that generosity is either “extremely” or “very” important to them, and one-third (32%) feels very satisfied with their personal generosity, with Millennials leading the way in this respect (45%). Yet financial giving rates alone belie their apparent enthusiasm: Only 13 percent of Millennials and even fewer Gen Z (6%) give money on a frequent basis. Why the gap? It may seem like a glaring discrepancy—but it is actually an indication of how approaches to generosity evolve across generations.

New Barna research, commissioned by Thrivent, expounds upon findings from The Generosity Gap report and examines giving trends among practicing Christian adults in the U.S. In this new data, we look at multiple expressions of generosity in the Church—monetary and more—and the complex motivations for giving, which tend to vary by age and life stage.

Generosity Takes Many Forms, and Is Primarily Driven by Compassion Though we often think of generosity in terms of financial gifts, its simplest definition is giving to others, whether of money, time, attention or other resources. This study covers five main categories of giving: traditional monetary support (just 1 in 5 practicing Christians express this most frequently), as well as emotional support (25%), gifts (16%), hospitality (7%) and service and volunteering (31%), which is the most common expression of generosity among practicing Christians.

Key generational trends emerge among these different expressions of generosity. Gen Z (42%), Millennials (27%) and Boomers (35%) most often volunteer or perform acts of service, while Gen X (30%) prioritize providing emotional or relational support, and Elders (41%) usually give financially. Hospitality and gifts, though less common overall, are most embraced by Millennials.