Editor’s note: I’d like to introduce Aidan Lett, the content manager at Pushpay. They’re helping hundreds of churches engage with that large portion of the congregation who don’t give. Pushpay is a beautifully simple digital giving platform built around a smartphone app that allows giving anywhere and anytime—in less than 10 seconds. We’re proud to partner with Pushpay and share their expertise on mobile giving.
It stunned me to read the 2013 State of the Plate Survey. This survey reported that “tithers” (or givers as I prefer to call them) who donate at least 10% of their income annually make up only 5 to 25% of most congregations. But they donate 50 to 80% of the money.
So What Does That Mean?
Those are staggering numbers. I suppose we could interpret these stats in all kinds of ways, but my interpretation was simple. In some cases 75 to 95% of churchgoers aren’t regularly giving 10% to Gods house. Imagine if we could engage just some of this group? It could completely change our ability to share the gospel, see souls won for Jesus and communities changed.
Let’s be clear: I’m not expecting 100% of people to give. There will always be a need for some givers to fill the gap for those who aren’t able to give, but even engaging 5% of this group would have a massive impact.
We’re also not talking about rich folks with deep pockets helping churches stay in the black. The State of the Plate found faithful givers distributed almost equally across all income brackets. It’s not excess income that makes them generous, it’s a state of mind.
An Opportunity
Whatever perspective you have on the numbers, I see this as an exciting opportunity. We have untapped resources within many of our church communities. The question is, how can we engage and enable this vast resource?
We’re not talking about squeezing more money out of congregations—the church has seen enough of that. We’re talking about engaging people and helping create a healthy culture of generosity.
I firmly believe we must start by seeking God on this issue, but we also need to think about other strategies we could use in tandem with prayer and education to engage wider portions of our congregations.
One Solution
I’m very blessed to work for a company called Pushpay that has a vision to see the church resourced by helping create a culture of generosity. We believe innovation builds a bridge between an unchanging God and a rapidly changing world.
As an organization we’ve been very privileged to watch this exact vision come to fruition among the churches we serve. Innovative technology is enabling people to give in the moment.
One example we’re launching soon is easy ACH giving via smartphone. ACH transactions are like direct deposit—it’s an alternative to credit cards and means fewer fees.
After helping hundreds of churches, we have identified five keys to engage the 75 to 95% and increase generosity across your church:
- People use and enjoy the latest technology Monday through Saturday, so we need to make sure on Sunday we provide cutting edge tools that mirror the experience people expect in every other aspect of their lives.
- Make giving easy—it should be about the moment, not the process!
- Allow people to respond to a call immediately by providing smart and powerful mobile solutions. 60% of digital interaction is done via mobile devices!
- Make sure the tools you use provide your church administrators the ability to communicate back to a giver quickly and easily.
- Have a solution that your staff and leaders have bought into, use themselves and are excited to share about.
Boosting Giving
The Pushpay solution has been built and continues to develop on the basis of findings like these. In an age where digital giving is common but often frustrating and impersonal, Pushpay provides an experience that is beautifully simple.
We are thrilled to hear our church partners report increases in giving from previously intermittent givers. It’s also exciting to see record numbers of new people giving and beginning to establish a habit of giving.
Our vision and our prayer is that the percentage of givers continues to grow and the local church has the resources to impact local and global communities with the truth of Jesus Christ.
Special Offer: To receive a free ebook, email info@echurchgiving.com and write ‘Free eBook’ in the subject line and we’ll send you a copy.
