During the Pandemic, every viable church looked into how to pay to tithes online. If they didn’t, they already had one or may not exist today. In the scramble to come up with a solution to take donations online, there may have been some stumbling blocks in getting it implemented and then used by your congregation. So we want to give some tips on how to pay to tithes online – Easily.
Online Tithing Benefits
Now would be a good time to circle back to get even more of your members to participate in tithing online. There are so many benefits to receiving donations and church contributions online. Here are just a few…
- When members are on vacation, they can still support the church.
- Gen X, Y, and Z don’t carry cash, so online transactions make giving convenient for them.
- No more worrying about writing a check or forgetting your wallet in the Sunday morning rush.
- Congregants can designate which funds they want to support within the church.
Other benefits include the ability for church members to go online and see their giving history, run reports, and most importantly, know that the information is accurate and secure. Online giving products automatically upload information directly into your church’s system. (If they don’t or require you to export the data and upload it yourself, you need a different online giving solution!)
Relaunch Online Giving
So how do you get your attendees to start using your online tithing solution? Easy. Talk about it—a lot. Don’t just include a mention in your bulletin or email. Promote it with pew cards; in your announcements, make directions on how to get started available, including information on your website. And don’t forget to use your events to promote online church giving. It’s as easy as setting up a table to assist anyone who may not feel comfortable doing it themselves.
If your congregants understand the benefits and how it helps your church, it is an easy decision. You may want to include cards in the pews that state, “I give online,” for those who don’t want to look like they aren’t giving. Let your attendees know how many others are using online giving and how much is coming in online.
Another tip might be to reach out to those still giving cash or checks each week. Find out if there is a reason they aren’t tithing online. They may have security concerns, or they may spend part of the year in another state, or they could be technically challenged, etc. All of these can be addressed if you know the cause.
Tithing Resources
The benefits of getting congregants to pay tithes online are clear, and they can save your church hours of manual processing. If you need help launching online giving in your church, please visit our resources at Church Growth. There are resources tools to use when promoting giving, creative types of giving, keys to creating a culture of generosity. These are just a few of the Guides available, and be sure to look at our blogs on giving and tithing too.
Carol has worked in the ACST Marketing department and managed most aspects of marketing over the last 20 years. Before ACST, she spent many years handling marketing for companies across the US including, Novell, WordPerfect, Purolator Courier, ArtToday.com, and U.S.News&World Report. Carol is a cradle Catholic who has been active her entire life (a long time!) and has served in volunteer positions within her parish, including formation instructor, lector, code red responder, and numerous other volunteer roles.
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For more information on giving download “How to Talk about Giving at your Church”.
