Stefan Bodnarczuk, 55, admitted theft at hurches in Fotheringhay, Lincoln and the west Yorkshire Dales before being arrested in May 2013.
The thief, from Coventry, stole £37,740 which will now be paid back to the Church of England dioceses where the money was initially collected.
At Northampton Crown Court he was sentenced to 20 months in prison and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs.