Every weekend we pass an offering plate asking people to give. The irony is that few people have significant cash on their person and few carry around a check book. In a world that has long gone plastic and is fast moving towards electronic the church is stuck in the last century. Within a few years nearly every transaction will be electronic. The future is fast changing and the church is largely ignorant of the wave crashing towards it. The offering is not outdated but how we collect the offering is fast becoming outdated. Online and electronic giving is the wave of the future.
If you don’t have an online giving strategy in place right now you are mismanaging the potential resources that God is entrusting you with! It is time we in the church wake up and realize that an information and technology revolution is already well under way and we once again are way behind. We are running the risk of not only becoming out of touch but we are on the verge of being out of money! The future of giving is electronic. Consider the following facts:
- 1 in 5 American adults have made a charitable contribution through a website and nearly 1 in 10 have done the same via mobile phone text.
- Convio, the fundraising-software company reported that its nonprofit clients received $253 million in online donations in November and December, an 18 percent jump from the previous year.
- The Salvation Army reported that online giving during the holidays rose 22%.
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP projected digital systems will become the preferred method for banking by adults by 2015.
Are you ready for this? If someone were to stumble across your church website would they be able to give online? Could they easily find your donation portal? If I attend your church and forget my check book can I find a way to contribute? What if your services get snowed out this weekend? Can people still give?
Consider that there are 5.2 BILLION mobile phone users in the world right now. What if you could easily connect to the thousands that live near your church? What if there was an App of your church that people could download to their phones so that you could send out key information to them? Wouldn’t that be cool? Too hard to do? Do you think it would cost you too much? What if you had an App for your church?
After searching for the last two years The Charis Group has formed a partnership to help bring Apps and online giving to our clients. Last week we hosted our first webinar about App design for churches. Due to popular demand, really that is true, we are holding another one this week January 26th at 3 PM EST. To register go to https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/616662598
I don’t believe the offering is outdated. I do believe the times have changed and that we in the church must change to meet those times. Our goal is to provide the help you need to not only stay in touch with new technology but to stay in the black in terms of your budget!
Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group
Find out how you can Turbo Charge Your Church's Giving!