Mark Beeson: Giving at Granger Community Church

By Mark Beeson

My son is as committed to Jesus as anyone I know, so when I heard him talking about the offerings at GCC I took note. Especially when I heard him say, "No one my age carries any cash. When you pass those bags around, what do you expect people to do with them? "

I assumed I misunderstood him.

"What?" I said. "Of course you carry cash. Everyone carries cash. How do you buy stuff if you don't have cash?"

"Debit card," Aaron replied. "I don't carry any cash. I use my debit card for everything. That's what everyone does."

A wave of insight swept over me. Clouds parted. The skies opened up. The light came on. I got it. If thousands of GCC'ers use their debit cards for everything else, it's just crazy to expect them to give cash on the weekends.

I know a lot of people who use debit cards for everything want to support the church. And I know those who want to help the poor, reach the lost and restore the broken will give if they can. But how could they support the church if we didn't make it possible for them to use their debit cards? Oops.

So we're fixing the problem. From now on those who don't carry cash can use their debit cards and partner in the church's ministry. Look for the Giving Kiosks this weekend and give 'em a whirl.

Sheila and I have already made donations with our debit cards and we feel quite good about using this new-fangled-offering-technology.

Psalm 96:8 - Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.

When should you receive the offering?

One of the most important parts of worship is the moment when we have an opportunity to give back.  All of us have been blessed and it is only natural for blessed people to want to express their appreciation for God's grace in their lives.  One way that we express our sincere thankfulness is through returning the tithe and giving offerings.

Most churches have a routine that they follow when they receive collections in the church.  In fact, most churches either collect the offerings after congregational singing or at the end of the service.  For regular givers, it really does not matter when the offering is collected.  The faithful stewards in the congregation going to give whenever, but have you ever wondered about the regular attender or the guest? At what moment do you think the occasional attender or guest would be more likely to give?

I would say that most people who are considering donating money to the Lord’s work would be more open to do so at the end of the service.  People donate to causes that they believe in and people that they trust in.  A guest may not be as open to giving earlier in the service, but after their hearts have been touched by the message and their emotions have been stirred by the music, there is a greater chance that they would want to respond in a tangible way.  There’s a greater chance that they would be willing to donate to the cause of Christ.

So, consider moving the offering to the end of the service and see if it helps increase your stewardship efforts.  If you would rather not change the order of your service, then I have another solution.  Consider adding a SecureGive giving kiosk in the lobby of your facility.  This unit allows your members to respond to God's promptings by providing them with the ability to donate with their bank card while they are at church. 

People who are touched by the ministry of the local church want to support that church.  Make it easy for them to give.  Add a SecureGive giving kiosk today. 

How Much Money Can You Expect To Come In?

Trying to figure out the money flow in a church can be challenging. Through the years, there has been a simple formula that I have used at Stevens Creek Church. We project our attendance and then multiply that attendance by $1400. That number becomes our projected income for the year.

This is based on the average attendance of all people in the congregation... infants to grandparents. If you have 5 people in a family, then that family represents $7,000 for the year. Please know that I don't expect every family of five to give $7,000. That would be a strain on some families of five while not stretching the faith of other families of five. This is a simple formula that looks at the big picture. For the last 15 years, I have used that formula with great success at The Creek.

I stumbled this concept during one of my doctoral classes at Emory in the early 1990s. Kennon Callahan suggested that the national giving average was $1000 per per person per year. I left that class and examined our local church and realized that we were around $1400. I did not use the formula at first because I did not want to believe that budgeting for a church could be that scientific, but it can be and it has been for 15 years.

There have been times when the income has exceeded the $1400 per person, but only during times of great challenge (ie capital campaigns) and / or times when major gifts have come in. For instance, in 2008 Stevens Creek budgeted around 1.9 million to come in. At the end of the year, we exceeded 2.4 million. What made the difference? We had four major gifts that totaled a little over $500K. If you subtract those gifts, the formula still worked.

Now, this blog is about giving kiosks. How much of this money flowed through electronic means? This year of the 1.9 million budgeted $425,000 came electronically. So, we are averaging around 20% of our donations through SecureGive.

If you want to know more details about giving kiosks, online giving or how SecureGive can help your church maximize your stewardship potential, give Patty a call at 706-228-3210 or you can email her at patty.baker@securegive.com.

How's Your Cash Flow?

A few weeks ago, an Elder from Stevens Creek shared with me an interesting statistic about the giving patterns at The Creek. He analyzed each individual month over the previous eight years and determined the average flow of money. What we discovered is that The Creek is very similar in cash flow as a retail establishment. We run a deficit (or from our cash reserves) through October and turn the corner with a profit in November and December. When you look at the year a little closer, you will see some upward trends during the Easter and tax return seasons.

Why is this important? The book of Proverbs teaches us to: Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds. We need to know the condition of our church or our organization's flow of finances. When you do this, you will be able to plan better. Better plans will help you maximize the money that has been donated to your ministry. Better plans will also help you manage your cash flow. As you know, ministry cash flow is very important.

In these economically challenging times, we need to make sure that our stewardship ministries stay up-to-date. One way to stay current is to install a SecureGive donation kiosk in your facility. A giving kiosk will help remove some cultural barriers that hinder people from giving. Mainly, people don't carry cash and they want to give. Add a giving kiosk and you will enable them to do what they want to do ... donate to your organization.

The First Step to a Successful Giving Campaign

At SecureGive, we want to make it easy for your members to donate to your organization. Therefore, we provide the technology for them to make bank card donations on site with a giving kiosk or online through our web product.  

True giving success begins long before the computers are purchased.  A successful giving campaign begins with a vision. What are you trying to accomplish?  Where do you see your organization going?  Without a clear vision, your efforts will not produce the results your desire.  The very first step is to determine your direction, then you must learn how to communicate your heart, your mission, your vision in ways that people can understand it.  People will give if they know what their money is being used to help make the world a better place.  People want to be a part of an organization that is making a difference.  

How do you do that?  The best way to communicate your mission is through stories of life-change.  Share testimonies of how a person's life has been changed.  You can do this through letters, newsletters, website stories, or short videos. You Tube is a great tool to use.  Make a video and then put a link to that video on your website.   Better yet, have the person whose life has been changed share a 5 minute testimony at your next meeting.  This will make the giving campaign personal.  

Be practical.  What are you trying to do?  Figure that out and then learn how to communicate your message in a compelling way.  Speak vision.  Tell people how life can be better with we all join together.  

You may think that you have already communicated the vision.  Do it again and again and again. Speak vision in various ways.

The new SecureGive software allows you to customize the headers and footers of the giving application.  You can use this space to communicate your vision. Recently, one of our organizations had a capital campaign called Imagine.  They used their giving kiosk header to communicate the message ... Imagine the Possibilities.   They began this project in March and reached their first year's goal in six months. Share the Vision. Make is clear. Make it compelling. People will give when they see and feel the need.  

Then, make it easy for them to give with a SecureGive donation kiosk!

Make Giving Easy with a Donation Kiosk

Don't kid yourself. People love convenience. When giving is convenient, people give more. Make it easy for your members to donate electronically, right on your premises, with a giving kiosk.

Consider this:

• Members won't miss a donation because they are short on cash or their checkbook is at home.
• Accept debit and credit cards at church where members are most likely to give generously.
• Members will receive a recipt when they donate, simplifying tax reporting.
• Detailed tracking reports save time and improve record keeping.
• Funds flow directly into your church's bank account.
• Using the SecureGive touch-screen interface, donors can direct contributions to multiple designations.

When giving is convenient, people give more!

Giving Kiosk or Website Donations: Which is better?

Have you ever wondered which is better ... a giving kiosk or a website donations option?  Both are equally important.  They, in their own right, serve two different needs.  A giving kiosk allows a person to give on the spot.  Let's say you are at church and you feel prompted to donate ... now you can with a giving kiosk.   

The giving kiosk allows people who want to donate while they are "in the moment". They are at church and they are thinking about their church's mission and they want to participate. People are busy and sometimes they may forget to use the online donation page when they get home.  A giving kiosk will help them do what they want to do, and that is, financially support their local church.

So, does that mean that a giving kiosk would replace website donation applications?  No, no, no. Website donations are a very important part of a churches stewardship ministry.  This option provides people who are methodical in their finances the tool to donate while they are working on their personal finances.    A website donation option also provides the contributor with the option of donating if he or she is not in service that week.  With the web, a person can donate to their church while out of town on a business trip or vacation.  

A website donation module provides convenience and promotes consistent giving. Speaking of consistent giving, you may want to consider adding a recurring donations feature.  This option allows member to set up a regular time that their donation can be automatically given.

If a church or non-profit organization wants to increase their donations, then both tools are very important ... onsite kiosk and online donations.

Call SecureGive at 706-228-3210 for more information on these options.

SecureGive.com