Wouldn’t it be wonderful for your church to have a steady, growing income that you could depend on — even during the summer months? Can you imagine how things would change if even sporadic givers became steady contributors? Recurring giving can make that happen!
Recurring giving through a mobile app
Digital giving solutions have made giving to churches simpler, faster, and much more convenient. But if you don’t have a strategy to get your congregation set up to automate their giving, you’re missing out on a big opportunity.
While most forms of digital giving have a set-it-and-forget-it option, a mobile app is your best bet for getting people to sign up for recurring giving. Among other reasons, it gives people the option to sign up for recurring giving the moment they have it on their mind.
You can encourage recurring giving sign-ups in places like:
- Bulletins
- Website
- Membership classes
- Sermon series on giving and generosity
- During offering times on Sunday morning
The Total Engagement Package from echurch (which is powered by Pushpay) reinforces your strategy by encouraging donors to become recurring givers.
The Pareto principle for churches
Management consultant Joseph M. Juran once suggested that in many situations, it’s common for 80 percent of the effect to come from 20 percent of the effort you put into it. This is called the Pareto principle (or the 80–20 rule).
You may feel like the same could be said of your church’s giving. In a 2013 study, Christianity Today found that only 10–25 percent of families in a church tithe, but they often provide 50–80 percent of a church’s funding. But recurring giving is helping churches like Sojourn Heights in Houston, TX turn the Pareto principle on its head.
Since their transition to Pushpay 90 percent of the church is giving. Of those givers, 97 percent are giving through their mobile device, using an app — with a significant percentage of them signed up for recurring giving.
When someone in your church gives twice within 30 days through their echurch app, they are prompted via email to sign up for recurring giving. This email will send them directly to their account to get started. This boosts your strategy’s effectiveness to inspire recurring giving in your congregation in a completely natural and seamless way.
On top of that, they receive an email at the beginning of the month before their credit/debit card expires so that there’s never a lag in their giving. If they don’t update their card by the end of their expiration month, they receive another reminder email.
Adoption is the key
The most important thing you can do to encourage recurring giving from your church is to have a single giving platform that’s your primary focus — and then work on an adoption strategy. You may still take offerings or have a giving form on your website, but the less focused you are on your preferred giving method, the more likely people are going to fall through the cracks.
Many churches already have digital giving solutions that facilitate recurring giving, but because of a lack of strategy and focus, they’re not having a lot of success. However, echurch has a plan to help you get everyone in your church on board. And it works: the rate for getting congregants using our app sits at about 76 percent.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how the Total Engagement Package can help your church increase its giving, contact echurch today.
