church giving

How many languages do you speak? Just one? Two maybe? Statistically speaking, only about ¼ of Americans can hold a decent conversation in a second language. In building apps for churches, I've seen hundreds of churches adopt new and emerging technology, which is not an easy thing to do. It’s a big leap for most churches too; moving their primary source of digital interaction to an app. But there’s a powerful language connected to an app most churches don’t speak, or understand. That is the language of Push notifications.

Millennials are making up an increasing number of church attendees, and this generation doesn't carry cash or check. Even older folks are choosing debit cards and online payments over paper payments. Churches, however, struggle to find ways to process online donations, gifts, and offerings that do not eat into their bottom line.

Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “People don’t give to need. They give to vision.” Well, that’s not entirely true. The truth is, people give for a variety of reasons. Just like people have different personality types, they have different motivators for being generous. Everybody in your congregations isn’t motivated by the same thing. Let’s talk about the five reasons why people make a donation to your church:

You want to get online giving software for your church. You know that fewer and fewer churchgoers are carrying cash or checks these days, and it’s time to consider some more hi-tech options than passing the plate. (For more on this, see tactics #5 and #15 in our list of practical ways to increase church giving.) You may feel like you’ve made a huge decision. (You have, and it’s a smart one!) But now you face an even bigger one. How do you choose an online giving software for your church? It’s a fair question to ask, and you’re not the only one asking it. Every month, there are more than 6,200 Google searches for church online donation platforms. And what do people find when they make that search? More than a dozen options! How do you choose a church giving software—and how do you know you’re making the right choice?

You’d think by now, it would’ve gotten easier. I’ve been going to church for my entire life. I’ve been giving to the church for most of my adult life. For goodness sakes, I’ve been working in church generosity for three years now. And I still don’t know how to talk about money. Because, let’s face it, people get weird when it comes to their wallets. Because of this, many pastors and churches simply don’t talk about it.

It’s Valentine’s Week, and that means a couple of things. First off, it means it’s cold--at least where I am. It means your social media feeds are likely cluttered with declarations of love, and/or diatribes about how V-Day is entirely arbitrary and unnecessary. And it means every blog post or “how to” article posted this week is required (by federal law) to include motifs of “love,” “affection,” and “romance.” Furthermore, since I’m the one doing the writing, you know we’ve got to talk about giving, generosity, and stewardship as well.

In a recent post for ChurchTechToday, I discussed four of the primary financial benefits that effective recurring giving programs can provide for churches. Increased giving, stabilized revenue, and automated workflows were all discussed at length. Today, I want to focus on another demographic that will benefit greatly from a fast and flexible recurring giving option: your givers! It’s no surprise that a giving tool that will benefit your church’s staff will benefit your givers as well. (How’s that old proverb go? “What’s good for the goose is good for the giver as well?” Yes, I think that’s it. Intuitive though it may be, let’s dig a bit deeper and look at four specific things recurring giving can do for the givers in your congregation.

The use of passwords dates all the way back to ancient times. The Roman military used watchwords, as they called them, to authenticate the rotation of soldiers on guard duty. Computer passwords have been around since the 1960's. They were first used to secure access to files on a large computer system at MIT.