Understanding Christian investing.
As more Christians seek alignment between their convictions and their investments, the need for thoughtful frameworks, clear definitions, and trustworthy guidance continues to grow.
What is Christian Investing?
All that God has entrusted to us is to be managed on his behalf and for his purposes.
Christian investing is the pursuit of aligning investing with the beliefs, character, and mission of the Christian faith. It is not a single investment strategy or universally agreed upon framework. You will find many investors shape their approach differently, emphasizing distinct theological, ethical, or financial priorities.
The CIC exists to bring greater clarity and transparency to Christian investing through ecumenically informed education, practical investment research, and careful evaluation of products rooted in transparency, independence, and faithfulness.
CIC’s work reflects the biblical wisdom, historic beliefs, and faithful practices of the Christian community. We uphold the clear ethical witness of the Christian faith through the ages, while recognizing that in some areas Christians apply that witness in different ways.
Rooted in the historic Christian faith and expressed with clarity and charity.
The CIC Statement on Christian Investing seeks to express the highest level of Christian unity and conviction as we apply Christ’s calling on our lives to investing. It also serves as a first step toward additional guidance developed by the CIC on how the Christian faith can inform investing.
Note: For more information on the background of this statement, see The History of the CIC Statement on Christian Investing and the Biblical & Theological Background for the CIC Statement on Christian Investing.
The statement
CIC Statement on Christian Investing
We rejoice in affirming together the Christian faith as professed in the Nicene Creed.
We believe and affirm that this faith should shape our investing.
The Triune God created and owns all things. Through Christ’s work and in the power of the Spirit, the Father is working in and through his church to restore creation’s shalom, the state of blessedness he originally designed for it. All that God has entrusted to us is to be managed on his behalf, for his purposes, anticipating Christ’s glorious return and creation’s full restoration.
God’s purposes for our wealth include not only spending to meet the needs of our households and giving to meet the needs of others, but building for the future. As an expression of faithfulness, investing places capital at risk so that it can be used for mutually beneficial economic cooperation to create both financial and non-financial value.
We are assailed by pressures from worldly structures and our own greed, pride and other malformed desires, tempting us to act as ultimate owners rather than stewards. To be a community of faithful stewards, God’s people are called to pursue distinctive Christlikeness through scripture, prayer, mindfulness of Christian tradition, and fellowship with one another characterized by honesty, trustworthiness and accountability.
Investing shaped by love, righteousness, wisdom and contentment, seeking to create profit with justice, with special concern for the least of these, is a rightly ordered act of faithful stewardship. Such investing contributes to the flourishing and integral development of human beings, cares for the order of creation, empowers generosity, and expresses neighborly love.
However, some uses of capital dishonor God’s purposes, cause harm, demean human dignity, and abuse creation. The Christian community is called to integrity, moral discernment, and action, seeking God’s kingdom first as it pursues financial returns.
Recognizing the complexity of investing, the range of investor circumstances, and the variety of legitimate goals faithful Christian investors may seek, we celebrate a growing consensus across the breadth of Christian tradition in favor of meaningful action, along with a diversity of approaches, expressed in three primary ways:
Avoid
investments that hinder the integrity of our faith.
Engage
opportunities to use our influence as investors for God’s purposes.
Embrace
investments that align especially well with the shalom God intends for his world.
Within this diversity of approaches, we commit to listening with humility, articulating our own theology with clarity, and seeking mutual edification with love.
Relying upon God’s grace by the Holy Spirit, we resolve to invest the wealth we steward to his glory, joining in his work, anticipating Christ’s glorious return. We call upon all Christians to do likewise, for the sake of God’s kingdom and the good of all people.
Endorsements of the CIC Statement
Individual affiliations are listed for identification only. Endorsement of the CIC Statement does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any investment product, solution, or provider.
CIC Board
Ken Barnes, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Dustin Bruce, Boyce College, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Shane Enete, Crowell School of Business, Biola University
Greg Forster, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Ralph Kindred, StratzGroup
Ben Nicka, University of Oxford
Nicholas Schmitz, Busch School of Business, Catholic University of America
Amy Sherman, Sagamore Institute
Rob West, Kingdom Advisors
Mark Whitsitt, National Christian Foundation
Institutions
Coming soon
Academics
Uche Anizor, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
Darell Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary
Robert Brooks, Culverhouse College of Business, University of Alabama
Michael Crawford, Indiana Wesleyan University
John Grabowski, Catholic University of America
Matthew Kaemingk, Fuller Theological Seminary
Kelly Rush, Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Daniel Schreck, Ave Maria University
Miroslav Volf, Yale Divinity School, Yale University
Andrew Walker, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Brent Waters, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Amos Yong, Fuller Theological Seminary
Industry Leaders
Luke Bolton, Christian Investing Council
Jerry Bowyer, Bowyer Research
Reuben Coulter, Faith Driven Investor
Deepak Devaraj, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors
Bob Doll, Crossmark
David Friedman, Bountiful Financial
Matt Galyon, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology
David Hanna, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors
Chad Horning, Praxis Funds
Mitch Hughes, Beacon Pointe
Stephen Jackson, Faith Driven Investor
Robin John, Eventide Investments
Will Lofland, GuideStone
Tim Macready, Brightlight
Andy Manton, OneAscent
Brian McClard, Blue Trust
Aimee Minnich, Impact Foundation
Matt Monson, Sovereign’s Capital
Brian Mumbert, Timothy Plan
Steve Nelson, Faith Investor Services
Robert Netzly, Inspire Investing
Tom Panther, National Christian Foundation
Cole Pearson, OneAscent
Harry Pearson, OneAscent
Brandon Pizzurro, GuideStone
Mark Regier, Praxis Investment Management
Tim Reichert, STAPLE Investments
Blake Schwarz, New Church Commons
Tim Schwarzenberger, Inspire Investing
Mike Shields, National Christian Foundation
Michael Skillman, Beacon Pointe
Will Sorrell, Crossmark
Hillary Sunderland, Beacon Wealth Consultants
Rich Todd, Innovest
Kendra VanderMeulen, National Christian Foundation
Thomas Ward, STAPLE Investments
James Waters, Kingdom Impact
Financial Advisors
David Bahnsen, Bahnsen Group
Jeff Hall, Rather & Kittrell
Aaron Larson, WaterRock Financial
Scott MacKenzie, Hampton Square Wealth Management
Rachel McDonough, Wealth Squared
David Perrott, Guide Financial Group
Gary Stanislawski, Regent Financial Services
Individual affiliations are listed for identification only. Endorsement of the CIC Statement does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any investment product, solution, or provider.
Guide
CIC Guide to Ethical Issues in Christian Investment Products
Coming November 2026
This guide explains how the historic Christian faith and ethical reflection apply to issues relevant to investing, helping investors navigate their decisions more faithfully.
Frequently asked
What is the Christian Investing Council?
The Christian Investing Council, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) serving investors and the general public by publishing educational materials, theological documents on Christian investing, and evaluation of investment products marketed to Christians.
Our board and staff bring professional expertise in theology and finance. We are intentionally ecumenical, bringing together a wide range of Christian traditions (including Catholics and Protestants) through our shared commitment to the Nicene Creed.
What are the beliefs of the Christian Investing Council?
Our published documents, such as the CIC Statement on Christian Investing, represent our commitment to the Christian faith, expressed in the Nicene Creed and historically applied to financial markets through Christian tradition.
We recognize a variety of viewpoints on specific issues within this history and are not seeking to impose uniformity in cases where authentic Christian beliefs have historically varied. However, where the Christian tradition reflects more unity, we seek to uphold that unity.
At times, the Council’s stated religious beliefs will address issues that are subject to significant social controversy. Our approach is to step back from current social and political passions, to ground our beliefs in the wisdom of the Bible and to take a long-term view of the community that has historically embodied the Christian tradition.
While Christian tradition includes instances where wisdom has developed over time, we draw a distinction between authentic development and radical reinterpretations of Christianity that break with historic Christian belief and practice. This distinction is vital to the Council’s ability to maintain fidelity and avoid captivity to short-term perspectives.
Whom does CIC represent?
We are a broad community of Christians, Catholic and Protestant, applying theological wisdom to investing. We seek to represent the theological beliefs of historic communities of Christian faith across a broad denominational scope over the last two millennia.
We are committed to listening well to others, who may or may not share our Christian beliefs, and we remain open to learning from their insights. We are not an arm or extension of any denominational body, and do not claim to speak on behalf of any other specific grouping of investors, Christian or non-Christian.
Are you a registered investment advisor or financial advisory firm?
No. The Christian Investing Council is a 501(c)(3) and is not a registered investment advisor.
We draw on our published religious beliefs and standards to evaluate investment products marketed to Christian investors. We do not offer personalized financial or investing advice, and our published opinions should not be interpreted as investing advice.
Our investment evaluation process is transparent, well documented, and independent from consideration of any actual or potential relationship, endorsement, or remuneration.
Our published religious beliefs statements and guidelines explain what we believe and how we apply those beliefs to investment evaluation.
