Stefan Bodnarczuk was arrested at Fotheringhay Church in Northamptonshire in May 2013 after he was seen acting suspiciously.
The 55 year old has now been jailed for 20 months for stealing £37,000 from churches in Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire.
After his arrest detectives found homemade tools used to lift coins out of donation boxes and diaries which noted his method of theft, the location of the church and how much petrol he had in his car.
Supt Andy Cox from Northamptonshire Police said: "Bodnarczuk was methodical – the offences were carefully planned and systematic and may well have gone undetected had officers not made this arrest.
"Those in our communities can have confidence that we take rural crime extremely seriously and will always be proactive when we receive information from members of the public."
Images: Northants Police