5 Reasons to Consider Text Giving for Your Ministry

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Stewardship is a touchy subject in churches today. It’s something pastors often don’t like to preach about. But it’s inevitable.

We’ve all heard of the summer slump. School is out. Summer vacations are in full swing. Church members are gone, and tithes and offerings take a hit. It seems like everyone knows about online giving today, but how many know about text giving?

Have you ever watched a fundraiser on TV that is trying to raise money for a cause or program? The first ones that come to my mind are instances like the Haiti earthquake or 9/11. Across the bottom of the screen you’ll see “text Give to 12345 now.” Why not do that at the church level as well? I’m not saying to commercialize giving by any means. I’m merely suggesting one more way for churches to allow their members to give the way God calls us to. Here are a few reasons why I like ministry text giving:

  1. It affords more people the opportunity to give. Not everyone carries cash or checks. Most carry credit cards, but when was last time you saw a card reader at church? Very seldom, I’m sure. Ministry text giving eliminates the barrier to give for folks who carry no cash or checks. Donors can also set up recurring payments with text giving, increasing the number of times, on average, people give each month.
  2. It’s inexpensive. For example, with One Church Software you can send or receive texts for $0.01 each
  3. Donors can choose which funds they want to donate to. Just like e-giving through the web, text giving allows multiple funds to receive donations via text. Set up is easy, and data can be exported to any ChMS. So if you have someone who wants to give strictly to missions or the youth that is possible.
  4. Your church gets donations in a timely manner. With some e-giving solutions, churches have to wait several days for money to clear aggregate accounts. With text giving, funds are deposited into accounts within a couple of days. This allows churches to be better stewards with their money.
  5. You can use text giving for things other than tithes and offerings.How cool would it be to create custom registration forms for events at your church? You can do that with text-to-donate software. Each form generates a unique URL that you can share via your website or social media. Think about the possibilities of being able to pay for mission trips or summer camp through text giving.

There are other benefits of text-to-donate software as well, like donor history, email receipts, tax reporting, etc., but the ones listed above are the main features I felt compelled to highlight. As technology continues to expand and churches continue to adopt more digital solutions, consider how text giving can benefit your members and your church.

Author: Matt Morris