The survey says…most people write checks AT church. LifeWay research just released a new study on tithing entitled, “Churchgoers Say They Tithe, But Not Always to the Church.” LifeWay Study on tithing The major focus was on tithing but they also asked about HOW people gave.
For now, let’s set aside the tithing issue. I want to focus on a subset of the part of the LifeWay report that asked people HOW they give to their church. Here is what amazed me…
6 in 10 churchgoers (62%) give to their church by check! 59% of that number gives their check AT church. Surprisingly half of those polled say they give cash at church. While the percentage of those writing checks in America for any kind of commerce is steadily dropping the Church is probably the leader in old school payment processing. Checks and cash are still king when it comes to a church being fully funded. Later in this post I am going to break out what this means for you.
For now here are some other tidbits from the LifeWay study that reveals HOW people give to their church…
- 11% give through their church website,
- 5% give electronically through their bank,
- 3% have automatic payments set up,
- 3% use their churches app,
- Some use more than one method.
What are the Lessons for the Church in this? Here are my thoughts…
Churches have always and will always continue to lag behind the rest of society when it comes to new ways of doing things. Our theology will stand the test of time but not our technology or the lack of it.
When it comes to online giving…
We have not yet reached the tipping point whereby more is given electronically. This is quickly changing. My long time clients are hitting the 50% mark of all funds coming electronically. Some are well past that percentage! Yet for all the buzz about online giving this study proves we still old school. So…
59% giving a check at their church proves why…
Passing the plate is still effective. One other subset discovery from the study was that the more a person attended services the more they gave. 57% of those who attended church weekly said they give at least a tithe. The percentage of tithers goes down to 28% for those that go only twice a month. Passing some type of offering device by your attendees has shown in other studies, to have a 15% increase in offerings over similar sized churches who do not take up an offering. So, keep passing the plate. Why?
Because, if six in ten people give to their church via check the other 4 give some other way and a wise church would offer multiple options by which to give. Studies have shown for years that people want giving options. This study clearly shows this to be true. Does providing those platforms sometimes mean more work for you and even cost you in transaction fees? Sure, but I would argue the return is worth it many times over.
If LifeWay went back and asked the same people five years from now how they give I think we would be surprised at the answers. I predict electronic giving will be the preferred way by a large majority. Yet I also would not be surprised to find a still strong contingent of people who want to write a check AT church.
Let’s get ready for the future by catching up to the present. However, let’s not throw out something that still works, the offering plate, cash and checks!
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach