text giving

The online giving industry is an ever-changing and exciting market for churches of all sizes. With digital giving quickly becoming the norm, it is critical for online giving platforms to be accessible and affordable for the average church. A new service, RebelGive, is shaking things up with a unique business model.

There’s no shortage of data in the world today—more data was created in the last two years than in the previous 5,000. In fact, 90% of the data we currently use was created in the last two years! For churches, the enormous amount of giving data is enough to make your head spin, but it’s still necessary to collect, organize, and apply it. Healthy churches know that with the right giving information at their fingertips, they’re better equipped to cultivate generosity and grow their vision.

Many church leaders and members feel nostalgia for traditional methods of worship. This is understandable, except that it often leads them to reject new technology which could possibly encourage young members to embrace the church in greater numbers.

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?

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.

As the director of business development for an online and mobile giving platform, I’ve had the privilege of a front row seat to the many new tools and technologies introduced in recent years. Tools that make it easier, faster, safer, and cheaper for churchgoers to give to their churches.

Online giving, text giving, mobile apps, crowd-funding pages, kiosks, widgets, gizmos, gadgets, you name it! It seems like every month there is a new “game changing” technology that is poised to “redefine church giving as we know it.”

In this rapidly changing environment, I’ve often felt the same frustration that many pastors and church leaders wrestle with: Where do I even start?

Choosing a text-to-give service can be an intimidating process. Especially when you’re confronted with church board buy-in before you can opt-in, understanding potential sticking...