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Back to newsCultivating a spirit of generosity in young people is a key element of their faith journey; as they grow in their understanding of how extraordinarily generous God is to them, the more their faith will deepen and the more they are likely to be generous themselves.
Witnessing the positive impact of their generosity on the world around them will then in turn encourage them to give more. While youth workers have a part to play in shaping young people’s attitudes towards giving, how exactly can they do this?
Teach and talk about generosity
Encouraging young people to see generosity as a way of life will help them understand that their resources, time and talents are gifts that God intends them to use to bless others. Draw on what the Bible has to say about the joy of giving and how it blesses both the giver and the recipient (Act 20:35). Share stories from both the Bible and your own life that highlight how giving can make a difference. One powerful story is the one of the poor widow who is commended by Jesus in Mark 12:41-44 for giving more than all the others; while she only gave two small coins, they were all she had. Helping young people adopt a mindset of plenty that trusts in God’s provision will be instrumental in encouraging them to give freely.
Create moments to acknowledge and affirm acts of generosity in your youth group. Invite members to talk about how they are giving and the impact it’s creating. Celebrating these moments reinforces the value of generosity and encourages continued giving.
Encourage active generosity
We know generosity involves using all our resources to bless others, not just our money. Encourage your youth group members to look for ways to serve - helping a neighbour, volunteering at church, or simply offering a listening ear to a friend. These acts of service will help them to become active members in the body of the church and to start to see how they can play their part in helping others.
Where young people you know have a small income, perhaps from a part-time job or an allowance from their parents, help them to instil the habit of giving now, even from small amounts, as this teaches valuable lessons about wise stewardship and prioritising generosity.
Encouraging findings
The Stewardship Generosity Report 2025 [https://www.stewardship.org.uk...] provides valuable insights into giving behaviours across different age groups. One of the key findings is that the youngest age category (18-24) gives the highest proportion of their income at 11% and that they are particularly loyal to their church in their giving with 80% making a regular average gift of £98, which represents the highest value among all age groups. This group is also almost twice as likely to be a Committed Christian, which further supports another key finding that a more engaged practice leads to greater generosity.
Another insight to emerge from the report is that while generosity varies across denominations, both depth of Christian practice and conversations on generosity have the greatest influence on giving. So embedding generosity into your teaching for young people will really help them to embed giving as an integral part of their faith that will can create a legacy of generosity with long-term impact.
Take up the generosity challenge this Lent
If you’re looking for a practical way to encourage generosity in your youth group, then get involved in 40acts, a generosity challenge for Lent. Created by Stewardship in partnership with Gospel Entrepreneurs, The Way Uk and many others, its aim is to inspire individuals and families to live generously through daily acts of kindness, both big and small. It’s a fun and meaningful way to build a habit of giving and show young people how generosity can make a real difference.
The Way UK has created six film-based youth group sessions on the topics of generosity, hospitality, kindness, service, sharing faith and sacrificial gifts. There is also a resource for youth groups to use alongside the sessions, which you can download at https://zeroheight.com/12562c8...
Michael Yelland-Brown, Director, The Way UK enthuses: “We are so exited to be a part of 40 Acts this year! Over Lent we’re going to be creating some fun and challenging social media content all around generosity! Check out our social media daily @thewayuk to watch the team take on the 40 Acts challenges! We’ve also created a youth resource series all around generosity."
Find out more, download resources for families and young people and sign up for the challenge at https://www.stewardship.org.uk/40-acts-sign-up
