These days, it just seems that almost everybody takes credit
cards – even God or, at least, Gods people.
Indeed, while one will not find credit card terminals in many
churches and synagogues, a growing number are accepting donations by automatic
billing to credit cards. This approach allows people to donate to religious
groups in the same way they pay their utilities or other monthly bills.
These days, it just seems that almost everybody takes credit
cards – even God or, at least, Gods people.
Indeed, while one will not find credit card terminals in many
churches and synagogues, a growing number are accepting donations by automatic
billing to credit cards. This approach allows people to donate to religious
groups in the same way they pay their utilities or other monthly bills.
This fall, the Roman Catholic archdioceses in Chicago and San
Jose, Calif., started offering electronic donation by credit card or deduction
from a checking account. Besides offering convenience, Tim Dockery said giving
electronically allows people to be more intentional in their giving and to know
exactly what their giving level is.
“They can ask, Does the amount I am giving reflect
where I am in my spiritual life?” said Dockery, an official with
the Chicago archdiocese. ” Am I spending more on cable television
than I am giving to the church?”
Dockery acknowledged some church leaders have been reluctant
to sign up for the program, fearing it will become less an act of worship and
simply another bill to pay.
Some also worry it will lessen church attendance. Others have
concerns about helping people go into debt. “But we are aware that an increasing
number of families use credit cards responsibly (to pay bills),” Dockery
said.
Andrew Goldberger is co-founder of Parish Pay, an electronic
deduction company for churches. The company receives donations for churches
in return for a 1 percent fee per donation, plus $1 per user for its services.
To use the service, people use an envelope similar to collection
envelopes.
Instead of putting cash or a check in the envelope, a parishioner
fills out their credit card number or account information and sends it to the
company. No one from the church ever sees the account numbers.
Meanwhile, even churches wary of such an approach can benefit
from electronic giving, said Len Thiede, vice president of Vanco Services in
St. Paul, Minn., whose system allows people to have church donations electronically
debited from a checking account on a regular basis.
Thiedes company works with about 5,000 churches nationwide.
He said the system benefits churches.
For instance, even parishioners who regularly attend services
will miss six or seven weekly services a year, affecting the amount of money
they contribute, Thiede said. Others may have committed funds to the congregation
but are not following through on pledges, he said.
Electronic giving can help in both instances, Thiede said.
United Methodist Church in Wheaton, Ill., has been using the
Vanco service for about eight months.
“It helped us out quite a bit in the summer because people
often just drop out during that time, …” church official David Brewer
said. “Without the automatic withdrawal, giving would not have been as
steady.”
Despite the interest in electronic giving, most churches have
drawn the line at having a credit/debit card machine in their buildings. The
only exceptions seem to be for special events, like conferences, or for on-site
bookstores.
However, that is not the case in Canada, where a number of
churches have installed machines. Desert Stream Christian Fellowship in Belleville,
Ontario, was the first church to do so, installing a debit-card machine in October
2000.
Members of the church swipe their card, enter a pin number
and the amount they wish to donate. The machine prints out two receipts –
one for the donor and the other for the church. But the church does not get
a record of the card numbers or who made the donation. “So, unless they
fill out an envelope, they wont be able to claim it on their income taxes,”
pastor Kevin Dowling said.
Using the machine helps limit the cash on hand, making it less
likely someone could steal money from the church, Dowling added.
“At the end of the day, the church treasurer swipes his
master card and collects the data, and all the funds are transmitted to the
church bank account,” he said.
Dowling said that by offering the card machine, his church simply is just keeping
up with the overall move to a cashless society. “We use the debit card
everywhere else – so, why not the church?” (RNS)