MinistryWatch Index Jumps in April
April surge driven by new IRS data and rising stock markets, even as ministry leaders grow more concerned about fundraising.
ANALYSIS—The MinistryWatch Index rose 4.4% during the month of April, the largest one-month jump in more than three years.
Until last month’s gain, the Index had been essentially flat since the first of the year, rising just 1.2% since Jan. 1.
The rise reflected the release of significant new data from the Internal Revenue Service. Also likely playing a factor was the rise in the major stock indices.
The strong performance in April means the MinistryWatch Index has risen about 5.5% since Jan. 1, 2026.
The MinistryWatch Index is based on the revenue of 38 large Christian ministries, ministries that represent all 22 ministry segments tracked by MinistryWatch.
A recent survey conducted by MinistryWatch of ministry executives found that fundraising has now replaced finding and recruiting staff as their top leadership concern. The May 2026 survey, not yet released, has found that 56% of ministry leaders say fundraising is their top concern. That’s up from just 31% who said it was their top concern in May 2024.
Ministry leaders remain optimistic about the economy, though slightly less so than in February. In February, 66% of ministry executives said we would not have a recession in the next year. Today, only 58% say so.
About 23% believe we will enter a recession in the next year, up from 18% in February.
Attitudes — and giving — seem to rise and fall based on the performance of the stock market. Studies by Giving USA suggest that philanthropic giving correlates closely to the rise and fall in value of the major stock markets. For the past year or more, the markets have been giving mixed signals. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up about 3.4% since the first of the year, but it is up about 16% from this time a year ago. The MinistryWatch Index was up about 11% during that same period.
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