The call to financial generosity from church leaders to congregations is nothing new. In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, he wanted to remind them of their unfulfilled enthusiasm to collect an offering. Since the Corinthians were more affluent, he thought using the less well-to-do church in Macedonia as an example of generosity might help reignite the passion and purpose for giving in the Corinthian church (read 2 Corinthians 8).
Methods Change – The Mission Remains
The methods of communication and collection have changed in the church over the years, but the intent is the same – to fulfill the church’s mission. Today, the use of technology provides the opportunity for many churches to no longer pass an offering basket or plate, instead favoring digital giving options. In fact, a 2023 Barna survey shows that 44% of donors give digitally. Creating safe, secure, and easy-to-use digital options is paramount to funding the church’s mission, and churches need to review their website to ensure the giving page reflects the church’s mission, vision, and values while remaining an effective tool to allow and promote generosity.
Review the Giving Page
Not every church has the luxury of staffing a web team. In many cases, churches must hire a vendor to set up, develop, and deploy their website and rarely change the content. If that sounds familiar, check the giving page on your church’s site and look for the following:
- Cast Vision – Does the giving web page explain why followers of Jesus give? Does it reinforce why giving to your church matters? The giving page is an excellent opportunity to share the biblical reasons to give. Create timeless content that reveals the heart of God and your church when it comes to generosity.
- Provide Multiple Giving Options – Give clear, concise instructions on your church’s digital giving options, like text-to-give, downloading a giving app, or online giving. Remember, the Barna study shows 44% give digitally, which means 56% still use other means to worship God with their financial resources. Make sure to include non-digital options on the webpage.
- Simplify – We’ve all experienced a website that was so complicated and overdone that it seemed impossible to find the button to check out. Then, it took another twenty steps to complete the transaction. Don’t be that church. When it comes to allowing people to donate money to fund your mission, less is always more. Break the giving page down into easy-to-understand sections with easy-to-read content leading to an easy-to-give process.
- Recurring – Studies show that churches that offer digital giving have higher giving than churches without. The primary reason is the ability to set up recurring donations, which allows donors to give even if they are not physically on the church campus.
- Details – As with any web page, having a team proofread and edit the content is vitally important – the entire world has access to this page; it needs to represent the church well.
Church leaders today may not need to send a handwritten letter via a carrier to deliver a message. Instead, they leverage technology to promote digital giving to spur the church on in acts of generosity by casting vision, providing multiple giving options, keeping the process simple, and offering recurring options. When churches do this part well, it helps reflect the image of God, the ultimate giver, and fulfill the most important mission of all: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28:19-20.
short url:
