Nearly three in four Canadian Christians surveyed in a new national study said caring about global poverty is part of following Jesus, yet 40% said they were unsure how to respond in ways that are wise and helpful, according to research released Saturday by a Canadian Christian network.
Kentro Christian Network, a national network of Canadian Christian relief and development organizations, published the study, titled "Willing Hearts, Uncertain Hands," with the Centre for Community Based Research. The organizations said in a news release that the report was timed to the United Nations' International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on Oct. 17 and will serve as the starting point for a multiyear public engagement campaign.
The findings point to a wide gap between private generosity and public action. According to the study's executive summary, 87% of respondents had donated money to global poverty causes in the previous 12 months and 82% had prayed, but 17% had advocated through formal channels.
Focused research rather than random sampling
Kentro describes the study as the first national research of its kind in Canada to combine survey data with qualitative methods. The survey drew 685 responses between Feb. 23 and April 10 of this year. It was distributed through 15 member and partner organizations that together reach more than 50,000 contacts, and the researchers added four focus groups with church leaders and nonprofit staff.
The report states that respondents are not a random sample of Canadian Christians. They are donors, church leaders and nonprofit workers already connected to the organizations that circulated the survey.
Most are regular churchgoers: 84% attend weekly or more. Nearly two-thirds are 55 or older. Thirty-eight percent identify as evangelical Protestant and 18% as Reformed or Presbyterian, while respondents from Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia made up 87% of those who gave a province.
High trust in Christian charities, but uncertainty about actual impact
The report says the 74% agreement on poverty as a matter of discipleship held across age, gender, region and denomination.
Among respondents who said they felt unsure how to help, 32% said they did not know which actions made a real difference, and 19% said the scale of the problem felt overwhelming. The researchers concluded that the hesitation was not driven by suspicion of Christian groups, since 92% of the unsure group reported moderate or high trust in Christian charities.
When encountering stories about global poverty, 53% of all respondents said they felt compassion. About a third reported anger at injustice and a similar share reported sadness. Seven percent said they felt hopeful.
Respondents also tended to see the problem as worsening. Fifty-four percent said global poverty had increased over the past decade, while 16% believed it had declined.
World Bank figures point the other way on the long-term trend. The number of people living in extreme poverty fell from about 2.3 billion in 1990 to an estimated 831 million in 2025, according to the bank, though it says progress has slowed considerably over the past decade.
Kentro and its partner said those gains are now at risk as international aid is cut. Preliminary data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development show that aid from major donor countries fell 23.1% in real terms in 2025, the largest annual drop on record. The OECD projects a further decline of 5.8% in 2026.
Asked about causes, respondents most often named weak or corrupt governments (52%) and armed conflict (51%), followed by systemic inequality and unfair global structures (33%). Focus group findings suggested that donors tend toward Western-centric explanations, the report said, giving less weight to factors such as colonial history and climate change and underestimating the leadership already present in communities of the Global South, which the report refers to as the Majority World.
Trust runs through relationships
Respondents placed the most confidence in people closest to the problem. Seventy-nine percent said they trust someone with lived experience from an affected community more than any other source, according to the report.
A Christian charity respondents already support ranked second at 42%, and a Christian nonprofit leader third at 38%, both ahead of journalists, researchers and government officials. The Canadian government ranked last, with 4% expressing high trust.
Focus group participants described pastors as endorsers whose backing leads congregations to trust a particular organization. Giving patterns pointed the same way: 58% said they most trust an organization they already know when deciding whether to give, and 65% give on a recurring basis.
Financial strain was the most commonly cited barrier to deeper involvement, named by 46%. On domestic priorities, 49% rejected the idea that Canada should address needs at home before engaging globally, while 23% agreed. Sixty-four percent said they would prioritize helping communities build long-term stability.
Areas where respondents want change
A total of 302 respondents answered an open-ended question about what they would change in how Canadian Christians engage with global poverty. The researchers grouped the answers into five themes: education, transparency, humility, integration and unity.
According to the report, respondents asked for teaching on root causes that is grounded in Scripture, clearer reporting from organizations on how donations are used, and more locally led work. They also called for evangelism and practical service to be held together and for agencies to reduce duplicated efforts.
Beginning of a multi-year campaign
Laura Solberg, executive director of Kentro, said that many Christians already pray, care and give. "You don't need a massive platform or education in international development to advocate for your global neighbours," she said, comparing the approach to the biblical account of the loaves and fishes.
“Advocacy isn’t something reserved for lobbyists. As we learn from the Good Samaritan, it simply means using our voices and resources to come alongside our neighbours,” said Solberg.
“When we stop viewing global communities like projects to fix and Western givers as rescuers, we’re able to walk alongside each other, learning from their resilience and growing whole together as one body. Active engagement and advocacy aren’t an added burden; they are a proven way to restore hope and agency for all”
The campaign will encourage Christians to engage beyond giving and prayer by coming alongside communities, supporting local leaders, sharing first-hand stories and speaking up, including to elected officials, according to the news release. Kentro said it plans to produce toolkits, ministry resources and educational materials.
The executive summary describes the report as a baseline and says Kentro intends to repeat the research over time with a larger sample to track whether collective efforts are having an effect. The network also plans a webinar series in 2027 to discuss the findings.
Kentro, formerly known as the Canadian Christian Relief and Development Association, began in 1984 as a working group of the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities and became an independent organization in 2007. Its stated mission is to promote unity and excellence among Canadian Christian relief and development organizations.
