Churches don’t just save the NHS money, they save lives

Social action projects run by UK churches save the NHS around £8.4bn annually. But that’s not all they’re doing, says Sam Hawthorne

The recent report from the National Churches Trust, celebrating the fact that UK churches save the NHS approximately £8.4 billion annually, couldn’t have come at a more important time. As the leader of the Community Grocery network under The Message Trust, I witness first-hand how churches across the country are stepping up to meet community needs in ways that go far beyond spiritual support.

This staggering figure underlines something we see daily: when the Church gets involved in people’s lives, the benefits ripple out far and wide, even to our health services.

During the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 we delivered 60,000 meals and food parcels to homes and families across Wythenshawe, Manchester who would have struggled to put food on the table without a bit of extra help. And it wasn’t just us - across the UK, churches and Christian organisations led the way in responding to the need in their local communities.