Relief and development ministries are often those who step in immediately when there is a crisis and then stay to focus on long-term projects that improve the living conditions of those impacted.
Many Christian organizations are committed to impacting the world through their relief and development efforts.
This month our list features the 50 largest Christian relief and development organizations. This list should not be taken as a recommendation for ministries you should support as a donor.
The top four ministries are the same as last year: World Vision, Samaritan’s Purse, Compassion International, and MAP International. Each top $1 billion in total revenue. On the 2024 list, MAP International did not top $1 billion in revenue.
The ministries on this list are ranked by total revenue, and not by ministry effectiveness, financial efficiency, or any other measure. We have included ratings for the ministries so you can make informed decisions about which ministries you should support. To learn more about these ministries, click on the ministry’s name and read the full MinistryWatch database profile about an organization.
A comparison of this year’s list to last year’s list reveals some important differences. Here are a few of them:
- The total revenue of the 50 ministries on this list exceeds $10 billion. That’s over $1 billion more than last year’s total. Both numbers are still well above the 2022 level of $8.2 billion.
- Over the last few years, the revenue of the smallest ministry on the list has continued to increase. In 2022, revenue of $5.2 million qualified the smallest ministry for the list. In 2023, that grew to $5.8 million in revenue. On last year’s list, the smallest ministry still had over $8.5 million in revenue. However, this year the smallest ministry — Venture—had $7.6 million in revenue. It is evident, that relief and development ministries are growing, but at the same time, the ones at the time keep getting bigger, but some at the bottom may not be increasing as rapidly.
- Six new ministries are on the list this year that weren’t in the top 50 last year. Catholic Medical Mission Board (#9), Cross International (#19), Christian Relief International/Nexcus (#34) — a new addition to our database, and Venture (#50) were new additions, while MANNA Worldwide (#48) and Kinship United (#49) returned to the list after falling off last year.
- Ministries that have dropped off the list include: Outreach Aid to the Americas/ECHOCuba, Water4Inc, Shelter for Life International, International Disaster Emergency Service, Eight Days of Hope, and Cornerstone Assistance Network.
- Ministries that saw significant drops on this year’s list include Food for the Poor (5 to 8), Mercy Ships (9 to 13), Children’s Hunger Fund (11 to 18), Covenant House (13 to 21), Lutheran World Relief (22 to 27), World Hope International (32 to 38), and World Emergency Relief (28 to 45).
- Ministries that saw their revenue and position increase significantly include: World Relief (18 to 12), Citihope International (36 to 23), and American Leprosy Mission (45 to 39).
Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.