Barnabas Fund: Who It Helps, How It Works and What to Check Before You Give
Barnabas Fund, also called Barnabas Aid, is a UK-registered Christian charity that supports persecuted and suffering Christians through local churches and ministries. It says it has worked since 1993. It has been under a Charity Commission inquiry since September 2024, so this guide sets out what it does, what regulators and the charity itself have said, and what to check before you give.
Barnabas Fund is a name many UK Christians know from church prayer sheets, magazines and appeals about believers who suffer for their faith. It is also a name that has appeared in charity news since 2024, which leaves many readers asking a fair question. Can I trust it, and what exactly happens to my gift?
This guide gives a plain answer. We read the charity's own pages on its work, its public statements about the current situation and its frequently asked questions. We also read the Charity Commission's announcements on GOV.UK, a trade press report on the charity's latest accounts, and research from Pew Research Center on religious harassment. Where a claim comes from the charity, we say so. Where sources disagree, we show both sides and leave the decision with you.
One thing is worth saying early. Caring for Christians who suffer for their faith is deeply biblical, and wanting to help is a good instinct. This guide is not here to talk you out of that instinct. It is here to help you act on it with open eyes.
An illustration made for this guide. It is not a photograph of a real place or event.
In this guide
What Barnabas Fund is, and how it relates to Barnabas Aid
How the charity says it works
Why it helps Christians only, and where believers differ on that
What the data says about the persecution of Christians
What the Charity Commission and the charity have said
Six questions to ask before you give
How to pray, and the questions people ask most
What is Barnabas Fund, and is it the same as Barnabas Aid?
Barnabas Fund and Barnabas Aid are two names for the same UK charity. The Charity Commission describes it as Barnabas Fund, "also known as Barnabas Aid", and it is registered in England and Wales as charity number 1092935. Barnabas Aid describes itself as an international Christian ministry that provides hope and practical support to suffering and persecuted Christians, and says it has worked since 1993.
Wikipedia, which we treat as a second-hand source, adds that the organisation is interdenominational and channels aid to projects run by national Christians in more than 50 countries. That sits comfortably with the charity's own description of working through churches and ministries on the ground.
The picture has more layers than one charity, though. The charity's own statement describes Barnabas Aid International, a US-based body formerly called Nexcus, as an umbrella organisation over the wider Barnabas family of ministries, including offices in the UK, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. The US website lists Barnabas Fund Inc., a US 501(c)(3) organisation, while the UK website lists registered charity 1092935. These are different legal entities in different countries, so it matters which website you give through.
How does Barnabas Aid say it works?
The charity sums up its model in three short phrases: from Christians, through Christians, to Christians. Supporters in churches pray and give. The money is passed to trusted project partners and area churches. The aid reaches Christians in need, and the charity receives reports on the result. On its about page it lists four strands to its work:
Raising awareness of the suffering and persecution of Christians, to encourage prayer and financial support.
Putting prayer at the centre, and equipping believers to pray for the persecuted Church.
Bringing hope through practical aid, advocacy, empowerment and education.
Working through local partners, because it believes they know their own regions best.
Its frequently asked questions page describes how projects are chosen and checked. Partners are always churches, Christian ministries or Christian non-governmental organisations. They apply with a project proposal. They are screened against terrorism, fraud and sanctions watchlists from the London Stock Exchange Group, and they must show a safeguarding policy. After funding, partners give updates plus interim and final reports, with receipts and invoices. These are the charity's own descriptions of its process, and we have not audited them.
One detail is useful for donors. The charity's accountability page says that 100 per cent of every gift to a specific fund goes to projects in that fund, and that operational expenses are taken from the General Fund. In practice, the choice between a named appeal and the General Fund affects how your gift is used.
In February 2026 the charity said that in 2025 it had supported more than 440 projects that helped over 1.4 million suffering and persecuted believers. That is its own figure, and we have not been able to verify it independently.
There is also a practical difference from some child sponsorship charities. Barnabas Aid says supporters of sponsored children or families cannot write to them or send gifts, because it judges the cost of arranging that to be poor stewardship. World Vision UK, by comparison, explains how its own child sponsorship works in our separate guide to it.
Why does Barnabas Aid help only Christians, and what does the Bible say?
The charity's frequently asked questions page answers this directly. It points to Galatians 6:10 (NIV): "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." The charity reads this as a particular duty of care for Christians. It adds that in many places believers are targeted for their faith and may be denied help by their own governments or by international aid, which is why it focuses on them.
It also says the benefit of a project may reach beyond believers. Its example is a borehole drilled for a Christian community, which the community might then open to neighbours of other faiths. Its stated values include treating all people with care and kindness, "including those who persecute us", which echoes Luke 6:27-28 (NIV): "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
Where Christians differ on who aid should reach
Scripture is clear that kindness is owed to everyone. Christians read the word "especially" in Galatians 6:10 in more than one way. Some take it as a priority inside a wider duty, and give to charities that serve people of any faith or none. World Vision UK, for example, says it helps children and families of all faiths and none. Others, including Barnabas Aid, take it as a calling to specialise in the family of believers.
Jesus' words in Matthew 25:35-36 (NIV) are often quoted on both sides: "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." In verse 40 he adds: "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Some hear a call to the poor of every background. Others hear a special concern for Christ's own followers. Both groups are reading the same verses in good faith.
The practical result is simple. If you want your gift to reach people of any faith, a charity such as Tearfund, Christian Aid or World Vision may suit you better. If you want to focus on persecuted believers, the question becomes which organisation does that work well and openly. Our pillar guide to trusted Christian charities sets these options side by side.
What does the data say about the persecution of Christians?
Anyone giving to Barnabas Aid is responding to a real concern, so it helps to see what independent research says about it. The most careful global counting comes from Pew Research Center, which has tracked restrictions on religion since 2007.
Pew's report on 2022, published in December 2024, found that Christians were harassed by governments or social groups in 166 countries, up from 160 the year before. Muslims were harassed in 148 countries and Jews in 90. Across all faiths, harassment of some religious group was reported in 192 of the 198 countries and territories Pew studied. Pew adds an important caution. A country is counted whether it had one incident or many, so these figures show how widespread harassment is, not which group suffers the most.
An illustration made for this guide. It does not show a real group or place.
A second source is Open Doors, a separate Christian charity (registered in England and Wales as number 1125684) that publishes the World Watch List each year. Its 2026 list ranks 50 countries where it says Christians face the most extreme persecution, and its website says 4,849 Christians were murdered for their faith in the last year it reports. Those are Open Doors' own figures and use its own method. We could not open its methodology page, so we cannot tell you how each number is built.
Barnabas Aid's own recent appeals and news pages mention Afghanistan, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The sources of harm differ from place to place. They include governments, armed extremist groups, local communities and sometimes families. That is worth remembering, because it means the problem is real without pointing at one faith or one kind of person. The Bible speaks to it plainly. Hebrews 13:3 (NIV) says: "Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." And 1 Corinthians 12:26 (NIV) says: "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it."
What have the Charity Commission and Barnabas Aid said?
This is the part many readers come for. Below is a dated timeline built from the regulator's own announcements on GOV.UK, a trade press report and the charity's public statement. We have kept it to what those sources say.
April 2024. According to the charity, whistleblower allegations led to senior leaders being suspended and an independent law firm being asked to investigate.
17 September 2024. The Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into Barnabas Fund. It later restricted any transaction over £4,000 without its approval (GOV.UK).
9 January 2025. The Commission announced inquiries into four linked charities, citing shared premises, trustees or founders and the flow of funds with Barnabas Fund (GOV.UK).
January 2026. Civil Society reported the UK charity's latest accounts. They state that about three-quarters of the payroll left between April 2024 and November 2025, and that income fell from £19.5 million in 2022-23 to £16.5 million in 2023-24, with a deficit of £297,000.
18 and 19 June 2026. The Commission appointed two interim managers, Edwina Turner and Catherine Gibbons of Anthony Collins LLP, "to the exclusion of the charity's trustees". They take control of the charity's administration, assets, records, banking and governance. The Commission says its inquiry remains ongoing (GOV.UK).
The Commission's June 2026 announcement describes the reason for the inquiry as serious governance and financial concerns, including allegations of unauthorised payments to some current and former trustees and related parties. An inquiry is not a verdict. We have not found a published conclusion in the sources we opened, and nothing here is a finding against any named person.
What the charity says
Barnabas Aid has published a long statement titled "What's happening at Barnabas Aid". In it the leadership says it welcomes the interim managers, that the concerns relate to conduct before April 2024, and that day-to-day work continues as normal. It says it has commissioned Christian Safeguarding Services to run an independent review of safeguarding concerns raised by whistleblowers, and that the findings will be published. It describes its approach as a programme of "renewal, reform and restoration".
It also says it has supported more than 440 projects that helped over 1.4 million believers in 2025, and that its Christian ethos has not changed. Those are the charity's own claims.
A disagreement inside the Barnabas family
The January 2026 report shows that the picture is disputed. The UK charity's trustees wrote in their accounts that Nexcus International, since renamed Barnabas Aid International, had "day-to-day control" of the charity's finances, and they voiced concern that some donated funds had not been used for the purposes donors gave them. Barnabas Aid International answered that the trustees' report "contains a number of inaccurate or misleading statements". The same report says two people were arrested in January 2025 in a police investigation into fraud and money laundering at a linked charity and have since been released under investigation.
We cannot settle that dispute and we will not pretend to. What a careful reader can take from it is that governance is contested, that regulators are involved, and that the charity says its work continues.
Should Christians keep giving to a charity under inquiry? Where believers differ
Faithful Christians land in different places here, and Scripture does not give a single rule. Three common views are worth setting out fairly.
Wait for the outcome. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 8:20-21 (NIV): "We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man." Some donors read this as a reason to pause until regulators report.
Keep giving to the work. Others note that the charity says the concerns concern past conduct and that believers in need still depend on the projects. They may choose a named fund, since the charity says 100 per cent of a gift to a specific fund goes to that fund.
Give another way. Some prefer to support persecuted Christians through their own denomination's mission agency, a trusted overseas partner or another charity entirely, and keep praying for Barnabas Aid's work.
None of these is the one Christian answer. Proverbs 31:8-9 (NIV) says: "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." Whichever route you choose, the aim is the same: help that really arrives.
What should you check before you give to Barnabas Aid?
These six checks are written for this charity's situation. They take about twenty minutes, and none needs special knowledge.
Know which organisation receives your gift. The UK website shows registered charity 1092935. The US site shows a different organisation, Barnabas Fund Inc. Make sure you are on the site of the country you intend to give through.
Read the regulator's latest word. Search GOV.UK for the Charity Commission's "statements on live cases" and read the newest note on Barnabas Fund. Dates matter here, because the situation has changed more than once.
Open the register. Search the Charity Commission register for charity 1092935 to see the filed accounts and any regulatory notes. The page would not load for us on 22 October, so we took no figures from it. Try it yourself.
Choose the fund on purpose. The charity says operational costs come out of the General Fund and that gifts to a specific fund go to that fund. Decide which you mean before you click.
Compare it with other routes. Look at one or two other charities that serve persecuted or poor communities, including Tearfund, Christian Aid and World Vision UK, and decide which suits your conscience.
Set Gift Aid up correctly, or not at all. Gift Aid needs a signed declaration for each charity. GOV.UK warns that if a charity reclaims more tax than you have paid, HMRC may ask you to cover the difference, so sign only if you have paid enough tax. Payroll Giving is a separate route that takes your gift before Income Tax.
Give willingly, not under pressure. 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV) says: "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." An urgent appeal should never stop you from checking first. Our guides to biblical stewardship and what the Bible says about giving cover the wider questions of how much and how often.
If it helps, you can print our free checklist and tick off the questions as you go.
How else can you support persecuted Christians?
Giving money is one way to help, and not the only one. Many readers find that a mix of prayer, a regular small gift and some attention to the news does more for them, and for the people they care about, than one large gift made in a hurry.
An illustration made for this guide. It does not show a real family or a Barnabas Aid project.
Pray on a rhythm. The charity publishes a daily prayer on its website and promotes an International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church for the weekend of 31 October and 1 November 2026. Open Doors UK also offers a free prayer pack. Praying with your church or small group makes it a habit.
Ask your church. Many denominations have their own links with churches overseas. Your minister may know a partner whose work they have seen first hand.
Write to your MP. Open Doors and others invite supporters to raise freedom of belief with elected representatives. A short, polite letter costs nothing.
Remember local needs too. Galatians 6:10 (NIV) begins with "let us do good to all people". Supporting a food bank or a refugee family in your own town fits with praying for believers abroad.
If you want to look at the wider picture of Christian giving first, our guide to 10 trusted Christian charities is a good place to begin.
A short prayer for persecuted Christians
This prayer is offered as a starting point. Use your own words if you prefer.
Father, we thank you that your Church is one body across every nation. Be near to those who suffer for following your Son, and give them courage, safety and daily bread. Protect the children and the widows. Soften the hearts of those who cause harm, and help us to love our enemies as Jesus taught. Give us wisdom as we give, honesty to those who handle gifts in your name, and patience where answers are slow. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Frequently asked questions about Barnabas Fund
Is Barnabas Fund the same as Barnabas Aid?
Yes in the UK. The Charity Commission describes Barnabas Fund as also known as Barnabas Aid, registered charity number 1092935. Barnabas Aid International is a separate US-based umbrella body, and Barnabas Fund Inc. is a US organisation, so check which site you are using.
Is Barnabas Fund a registered charity?
Yes. It is registered in England and Wales as charity 1092935, and the charity's website shows that number. Being registered means it is regulated. It does not by itself say anything about how well it is run.
Why is Barnabas Fund under investigation?
The Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry in September 2024 over serious concerns about compliance with charity law and use of charitable funds, including allegations of unauthorised payments to current and former trustees and related parties. It appointed interim managers in June 2026 and says the inquiry is ongoing. No conclusion had been published in the sources we read.
Can I still give to Barnabas Aid safely?
That is your decision to weigh. The charity says its work continues and that gifts to a named fund go to that fund. The regulator has taken control of the UK charity's administration through interim managers. Use the six checks above, read the latest regulator statement and choose a route you are at peace with.
Does Barnabas Aid only help Christians?
Its stated focus is Christians who suffer persecution or hardship, based on Galatians 6:10. It says some projects, such as a borehole, may also benefit neighbours of other faiths.
How does Barnabas Aid choose its projects?
According to its frequently asked questions page, partners are churches, Christian ministries or Christian non-governmental organisations. They submit proposals, are screened against watchlists, must show safeguarding policies, and report with receipts during and after the project.
Where does the Bible say to help persecuted Christians?
Hebrews 13:3 asks believers to remember those who are mistreated as if they were suffering themselves. Galatians 6:10 points to the family of believers, and Matthew 5:10-12 tells disciples they are blessed when they are persecuted for righteousness.
Key takeaways
Barnabas Fund and Barnabas Aid are the same UK charity, number 1092935, with US and international bodies alongside it.
It supports persecuted and suffering Christians through local churches and ministries, and says it has worked since 1993.
Pew found Christians were harassed in 166 countries in 2022, but Pew warns that the count does not show which group suffers most.
The Charity Commission has had Barnabas Fund under statutory inquiry since September 2024 and appointed interim managers in June 2026. The inquiry is ongoing.
The charity and its former trustees dispute some facts. Read the latest regulator statement before you give.
Christians differ on whether to wait, give to a named fund or give another way. Give willingly, and check first.
References and further reading
Barnabas Aid: About us and frequently asked questions (the charity's own account of how it works and who it helps)
GOV.UK: Charity regulator appoints interim managers to international aid charity (Charity Commission, 19 June 2026)
Pew Research Center: Government restrictions on religion stayed at peak levels in 2022 (December 2024)
Civil Society: Majority of Christian charity's staff resign amid ongoing dispute (13 January 2026)
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV), copyright Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Last reviewed on 22 October 2026. On that date we read the Barnabas Aid about, frequently asked questions, accountability and statement pages, the two GOV.UK announcements, the Civil Society report and the Pew chapter named above, and checked each Bible quotation against the NIV text. We could not open the Charity Commission register page or the Open Doors methodology page, and we have not taken figures from either. Situations like this one change quickly, so please check the latest statements yourself. Corrections are welcome through the contact form.
Explore more: read our guides to Tearfund and tithing in the Bible, or visit Jesus Light Studio for more Christian guides.
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