mobile giving done right

41 PAGES

8 Second Attention Span

A Research Kit for Churches

a publication of &

MOBILE GIVING

4 BARRIERS TO CHURCH GIVING

PITFALLS TO AVOID3

8 QUESTIONS TO ASK

4 Things to

Expect

13,909+ CHARACTERS 2,907+ WORDS

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Done Right

3 MUST-HAVES

TABLE OF CONTENTSWHY DO CHURCHES NEED MOBILE GIVING? 2 What if your church could count on consistent monetary increases above the national average every month? 3How the church feels about giving 4-5 Christians agree they should give, but do they actually? 6-7Mobile giving helps people express generosity 8-9What’s the difference between online and mobile giving 10-11

FOUR COMMON BARRIERS TO CHURCH GIVING 12We have busier lifestyles 13Cash & checks are never on hand 14Cultural values have shifted 15Church attendance is declining 16-17

THREE MOBILE GIVING PITFALLS TO AVOID 18Systems that can’t compete with today’s standards 19Using too many vendors 20Forgetting to research merchant processing 21

BEYOND THE SOFTWARE 22The ability to grow with your church 23Excellent customer service 24Shared values 25

EIGHT QUESTIONS TO ASK AS YOU GET STARTED 26What giving methods are offered? 27Do they integrate with my church database? 28Is my provider going to scale with me? 29How does the platform show results? 30Should I get a custom plan? 31What kind of support is available? 32Will the provider help engage the church? 33How does this fit with my current giving strategy? 34

FOUR REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS 35New, younger givers 36Increased giving overall 37A generous generation 38Maturity in your church 39

CONCLUSION 40Who are eChurchGiving and Pushpay? 41

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WHY CHURCHES NEED MOBILE GIVING?

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WHAT IF YOUR CHURCH COULD COUNT ON CONSISTENT MONETARY INCREASES ABOVE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE EVERY MONTH?Perhaps you’d use it to pay down debt, build up a savings, or grow your staff and building infrastructure? Either way, you can be sure that it represents participation growth and an increase in ministry opportunities for your church.


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PAYDOWN DEBT

BUILD UPSAVINGS

INVEST ININFRASTRUCTURE

GROWPARTICIPATION

INCREASE MINISTRY OPPS

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HOW THE CHURCH FEELS ABOUT GIVING“The purpose of God’s blessing is to enable you to be a great channel of blessing to others. If you have nothing, there is nothing you can do for anyone else; if you have a little, you can only help a little; but if you have plenty, there is a whole lot you can do. When you are blessed, you have a mighty foundation from which to impact others. You are blessed to be a blessing.”

— Brian Houston, Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church


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HOW THE CHURCH FEELS ABOUT GIVING (continued)

We know Christians don’t agree on everything. We’ve all heard stories of churches splitting over disagreements ranging from the meaning of baptism to carpet color. But almost every Christian, regardless of denomination or theological stance, agrees that giving to the church is important.

But almost every Christian, regardless of denomination or theological stance, agrees that

giving to the church is important.

As Houston notes, we have been blessed to bless others. We first hear this language in Genesis, when God tells Abraham that He will bless him and his descendents to be a blessing (Gn 12:2). Jesus spoke on the importance of giving, too; His apostles quote Him in the book of Acts, saying, “It is better to give than to receive.” (Ac 20:35) And that’s far from all; the church draws from many other Bible verses that teach the importance of giving.


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CHRISTIANS AGREE THEY SHOULD GIVE, BUT DO THEY ACTUALLY?Christians know they should be generous, but according to a recent survey, only 20% of churchgoers give regularly. That’s only one out of every five attendees! Another survey revealed that 80% of Americans give just 2% of their income.

20% of churchgoers give regularly.

In fact, more than one in four church goers give $0 to their church each year. Not even a token $5.

If Christians agree on the importance of generosity, why do the staggering numbers seem to show such a huge lack of it?


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CHRISTIANS AGREE THEY SHOULD GIVE, BUT DO THEY ACTUALLY (continued)

Greed, distrust, and fear of the future—these issues might immediately come to mind to explain a lack of giving. But what if there was more to the story?

We believe that there are other issues preventing generosity in the church today, and not all are born out of unwillingness to give. Instead, we see a disparity between how the church tends to accept donations and how many people make transactions today.


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MOBILE GIVING HELPS PEOPLE EXPRESS GENEROSITYMore than ever, our world is driven by technology. Most churches haven’t stayed up-to-date with the tech their members use in their daily lives—especially when it comes to monetary transactions.

Many churches simply need to make the donation process easier for their

congregants in order to see a huge increase in giving.

People (especially young people) have become accustomed to paying for things digitally with little to no hassle, and many churches use archaic or even clunky donation processes.


GIVE

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MOBILE GIVING HELPS PEOPLE EXPRESS GENEROSITY (continued)

Many churches simply need to make the donation process easier for their congregants in order to see a huge increase in giving.

This doesn’t mean it’s time to throw away your offering plates and stop accepting paper checks. But it is important to start looking at the big changes people have made in how they do life, especially in regards to how they allocate their money.

We’ve made this ebook to give you an overview of the church’s need for mobile giving and to equip you with

the information you need to get your own church started.

We’ve made this ebook to give you an overview of the church’s need for mobile giving and to equip you with the information you need to get your own church started. Adopting mobile giving might be just what your church needs to revive a culture of generosity.


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WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ONLINE AND MOBILE GIVINGWhile online giving happens from a personal computer at a specific location, mobile giving can be done from a phone or tablet anywhere with cell service. About 42% of churches now offer online giving, while only 20% offer mobile giving.

Mobile giving options are important because they allow a donation method during church with the currency your

congregants have on hand.


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WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ONLINE AND MOBILE GIVING (continued)

Mobile giving options are important because they allow a donation method during church with the currency your congregants have on hand. According to Pew Research, 91% of the US population has a cell phone. In the United States, 56% of cellphone users have a smartphone—and this number’s even higher for Americans younger than 34. Providing a true mobile giving solution remains one of the greatest opportunities for many churches today.

Providing a true mobile giving solution remains one of the greatest opportunities for

many churches today.


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FOUR COMMON BARRIERS TO CHURCH GIVINGChurches face the challenge of dealing with a rapidly changing culture. However with the right tools and information, church leaders like you can keep up with these changes.

We’ve identified four common barriers to church giving that have arisen with cultural change that you’ll face as a church.

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1. WE HAVE BUSIER LIFESTYLES

Our culture is arguably busier than ever before. Work, family, friends, hobbies—these things have been around for a while, but today’s technology pushes them along at a more frenetic pace. There is an endless list of things vying for our attention, and giving doesn’t often happen in a format that naturally fits our lifestyles. If people are going to give, they need to direct time and attention specifically towards that purpose…and that’s unlikely to happen with how thinly we spread our selves. Did you know? Studies show the average attention span in 2013 was just 8-seconds.

Studies show the average attention span in 2013 was just 8-seconds.

FOUR COMMON BARRIERS TO CHURCH GIVING

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2. CASH & CHECKS ARE NEVER ON HAND

Paper money is on the decline. Fewer people carry cash or checks, and in some churches, these are the only formats they can use to give. When the offering basket gets passed around, many people can’t give even if they want to.


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3. CULTURAL VALUES HAVE SHIFTED

For better or worse, 20 somethings and 30 somethings don’t think of giving the way churchgoers once did. For many young people, giving to a church is just not part of how they do life. Often they will give funds to other more sensational charities, like donating to help build a well in a third-world country, for example. It might never cross their minds that somehow their pastor needs enough money for his salary.

It might never cross their minds that somehow their pastor needs

enough money for his salary.


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4. CHURCH ATTENDANCE IS DECLINING

Fewer and fewer people are regularly attending church. According to recent research, even those with a church home only attend 1.7 times a month. The trouble this presents for giving is quite obvious: the less often people attend church, the less opportunity they have to give to their church.

The less often people attend church, the less opportunity they have

to give to their church.


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CHURCH ATTENDANCE IS DECLINING (continued)

These are tough challenges, but hope is not lost for churches in need of increased generosity among their members. You can employ many tactics to help overcome these barriers, one of which is finding a mobile giving solution. This will help you address the first three of these four barriers mentioned above.

One of which is finding a mobile giving solution.


THREE MOBILE GIVING PITFALLS TO AVOIDYou’ll want to find a mobile giving solution that fits your church. Every church is unique, and trying to find the option that’s right for you can seem daunting. To get you started on the right foot, here are three scenarios you’ll want to steer clear of right off the bat.

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1. SYSTEMS THAT CAN’T COMPETE WITH TODAY’S STANDARDS

A recent survey of the 50 fastest-growing churches showed that online giving took over three minutes. Three minutes doesn’t sound like a whole lot of time, but compared to what people expect out of a payment process today, that’s very slow. To give you an idea: people expect a mobile transaction to take an average of 10 seconds, and a web transaction an average of 30 seconds. If a transaction takes longer than 30 seconds on mobile, 85% of people cancel the transaction!

If a transaction takes longer than 30 seconds on mobile, 85% of people

cancel the transaction!

THREE MOBILE GIVING PITFALLS TO AVOID

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2. USING TOO MANY VENDORS

When you implement new technology, it’s very easy to end up with a number of different solutions that might not work hand in hand. To help your church staff avoid that mess, try to find a comprehensive solution. Work with a payment processing company that either integrates smoothly with what you already have set up, or that gives you the whole package in one go.


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3. FORGETTING TO RESEARCH MERCHANT PROCESSING

Merchant processing and card fees make up a big part of online and mobile giving—so don’t forget to do your research on how they work! Up to 70% of your transaction costs are going to be dictated by credit card companies. There’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution for merchant processing, so study up! You want to be sure your solution allows people options to give in the way that is least expensive for you.


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BEYOND THE SOFTWAREWe’ve talked about three scenarios that wouldn’t be good for your church’s transition into using a mobile giving service. Now that you know what to avoid, let’s talk about what to look for.

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1. THE ABILITY TO GROW WITH YOUR CHURCH

Your church may not always look the way it does today. What if in two years your congregation doubles? What if in four years you want to start a new satellite campus? What if in six years you decide to plant another church?

You can’t predict the future, so it’s important to choose a mobile giving solution that can adapt with your church over the years.

BEYOND THE SOFTWARE

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2. EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE

Don’t forget to look into quality and availability of customer service when you choose your provider. If you’re able to contact customer service reps around the clock, that’s ideal. Do your research on their reputation with their other customers. Are they friendly? Do they have an automated support system, or are there real people on the phone? Make sure the provider you choose has great customer service. Your team will be grateful later!

BEYOND THE SOFTWARE

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3. SHARED VALUESAs a church, you know that church giving isn’t just about the bottom line. You want to foster a culture of generosity and build a community that cares for each other. If you can find a mobile giving service offered by a company with aligned values, you’ll get much more than functionality out of the relationship.

You’ll get service that’s better suited to your church’s needs.

You’ll be working with people who relate to your desires, and as a result, you’ll get service that’s better suited to your church’s needs.

BEYOND THE SOFTWARE

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EIGHT QUESTIONS TO ASK AS YOU GET STARTEDYou now have a basic foundation of what to look for and what to avoid in a mobile giving solution. As you narrow down to your final choice, here are eight questions to ask to help you choose a platform and a service package.

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1. WHAT GIVING METHODS ARE OFFERED?

We recommend finding a solution that offers a complete suite of donation processing channels: online, kiosk, ACH text and mobile. Remember when we talked about trying to avoid too many vendors? This question is, in part, a failsafe to keep that from happening.

According to MIT Technology Review, “Smartphones are spreading faster than any technology in human history.” Mobile giving is likely to continue increasing in relevance and convenience to your church attendees.

EIGHT QUESTIONS TO ASK AS YOU GET STARTED

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2. DO THEY INTEGRATE WITH MY CHURCH DATABASE?

Take some time to look at what database system your church uses. If you’re a smaller church, you might not have one.

If you do, you’ll save yourself lots of trouble later by checking first if the giving platform you’re looking at integrates with your church database. This will allow you to more easily keep track of funds, manage donor records, and do year end tax reporting.


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3. IS MY PROVIDER GOING TO SCALE WITH ME?

We talked a little about finding a solution that will adapt with your church, but how specifically do you check for that? We have two tips that will help. First, check the service’s development cycle. If they’re frequently releasing updates, it’s a good sign that the solution will scale. Another tip: try to stick with a provider who won’t make you sign a long contract—we encourage month-to-month.


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4. HOW DOES THE PLATFORM SHOW RESULTS?

This is a good question to ask on the phone with a representative for the service you’re looking at. Request testimonials and case studies. See if you can find success stories from churches similar to yours. Even check to see if the company can provide a guarantee for increased congregational giving.

The more real-life information you can get about the mobile giving solution in action, the more confident you can be about implementing it in your church.


1st

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5. SHOULD I GET A CUSTOM PLAN?

In most cases, we recommend avoiding a one-size-fits-all plan that some companies offer. With a plan like that, you might miss out on helpful features specifically for churches like yours, or you might even pay for features you don’t need. Instead, we recommend looking for a provider with plans tailored to your exact church size. Talk through the different options with a representative after you’ve done some research on merchant processing.


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6. WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE?

We talked about the need for good customer support. In addition to checking whether you’ll be able to get on the phone with real people, make sure you have access to help on Sunday mornings. You don’t want to have no help available for issues with your platform when you need it most! A great provider will offer support for both merchant processing and user giving.

Make sure you have access to help on Sunday mornings.


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7. WILL THE PROVIDER HELP ENGAGE THE CHURCH?

Not all mobile giving options offer a strategy for implementation and engagement. Find one that does! We recommend a provider that gives specialized help from a customer success team. This team won’t just walk you through setting up your software—they’ll also give you custom advice for teaching your congregation to start using the new platform to give generously. Resources are helpful, but 24/7 access to an engagement expert who knows your ministry is invaluable.


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8. HOW DOES THIS FIT WITH MY CURRENT GIVING STRATEGY?

When implementing a mobile giving solution, it’s easy to get so caught up in what’s new that you forget about what you’re already doing. Don’t let that happen! You’ll still have church members who prefer the traditional ways of giving. Keep your hand on the pulse of your congregation and pay attention to their preferences. Remember, you don’t need to limit your methods of accepting funds from your congregation. Use what works for people, and be careful phasing out old methods before their time.

If you’ve asked and found answers to all these questions, you can be confident you’re choosing a mobile giving solution that’s going to help your church.


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FOUR REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS Once you’ve pulled the trigger on a church giving solution, what should you expect?

Here are four things to look for once you’ve set up mobile giving at your church.

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1. NEW, YOUNGER GIVERSMobile giving will allow you to engage a new group of people in your church. You’ll experience some first-time givers, especially among your members in their 20’s and 30’s. They may be people who have wanted to give in the past, but never take the first step

FOUR REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS

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2. INCREASED GIVING OVERALL

Not only should you start noticing church funds coming from first-time and younger members, but you can also expect to see an increase in giving as a whole. Mobile giving services can give people a way to donate money without having to remember to bring a check or cash to church—and the increase might even come from folks who have been around a long time.


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3. A GENEROUS GENERATION

The scope of mobile giving’s impact extends beyond your local church. Fewer people are giving regularly in the church than ever before, but adopting cutting-edge technologies like mobile giving can play a part in revitalizing a culture of generosity in your city, your state, and beyond.

Don’t be surprised to see this generosity extend to areas like volunteering and small group participation as well.


Aa Bb Cc

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4. MATURITY IN YOUR CHURCH

Fostering a culture of generosity has implications beyond funding. You’ll see growth in church attendees who begin to give for the first time. As people connect to the church through giving, your church community will be strengthened. The act of giving leads people to engage in deeper relationships with each other and to become more integral parts in the life of your church.

We hope you’ve found this guide helpful in choosing a mobile giving platform that meets your needs, builds your congregation.


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CONCLUSIONWe’d like to end with the same question we started with, “What if your church could count on consistent monetary increases above the national average every month?”

This is the opportunity that a true mobile giving strategy presents for many churches today.

As church leaders, giving represents more than just financial increase; it represents an increase in ministry, both in our community and in the people who call our church home.

For more information about how Pushpay can come alongside your

church to ignite generosity, click the button below. Learn more about how

Pushpay can help your church.

VISIT US

CONCLUSION

http://go.echurchgiving.com/overview/?utm_source=Article%2FBlog&utm_medium=ebook&utm_campaign=Ebook%20-%20Mobile%20Giving%20Done%20Right

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WHO ARE ECHURCHGIVING AND PUSHPAY?Recent studies are clear: churches in America are facing declines in both financial tithing and attendance. The media is quick to emphasize the disconnect between the church and younger generations, while pastors fear the disappearance of a culture of generosity. And our past experiences tell us that churches are typically slow to adopt new technologies, especially in the area of contributions.

It was in the face of these problems that Pushpay and eChurchGiving were created. Our premise: how many of the above problems could be solved by simply making 10-second giving available on a smartphone, connected in real-time to the church’s website and database?

This is the Pushpay and eChurchGiving model, and it’s being used by hundreds of churches across the country to help drive sustainable increases in first time, young, and reoccurring givers.

If we were to come alongside your ministry, what type of resource could we see unleashed? It would be prolific!

Read more about the heart behind our model at: echurchgiving.com/team

CONCLUSION

http://www.echurchgiving.com/team

mobile giving done right

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