How Digital Giving Increases Generosity

I remember the day I pulled the phone from my pocket and raised it high in the air from the stage at the front of our sanctuary. On that phone was the very first iteration of Tithe.ly Giving, a mobile app that allows people to give to their church anytime, anywhere.

I told the people gathered for worship that morning to take out their phones as well—something that pastors didn’t often do back then. All in the span of a minute or two, I showed them how to download the app, set it up, and give. It was all so simple and so seamless. I knew it would change our church’s tithes and offerings forever.

It did that, but it also increased generosity like nothing I’d ever seen before.

Generosity without the Friction

As the CEO and one of the cofounders of Tithe.ly, an organization with a mission to help churches increase giving and engagement through the power of technology, I’ve seen it happen thousands upon thousands of times. When a church begins to offer a variety of digital giving options and educates people on how they work, giving increases substantially—at least 10 to 15 percent, and in some cases, much more. Why is that? It’s because online and mobile giving take away much of the friction involved in making a donation.

In the corporate world, business leaders and CEOs know that taking the friction out of a transaction will increase sales. It’s why, for example, Amazon has their famous “Buy Now” with-one-click button. Credit card and address information are already stored and ready to go, so when a person makes a decision to buy, they’re just one tap on their phone or one click on their mouse away from being done.

In the old days, you would have to add an item to your shopping cart. Then, on a different screen, you’d enter your mailing address. On another screen, you’d be asked to enter your credit card and billing information. And then, finally, you’d need to confirm the order on one last screen. That’s a lot of stops where someone might choose to get off the purchase train. It’s friction—annoying steps that extend the buying process and make it more difficult to complete.

Shortly after Apple allowed outside developers into the App Store for the iPhone, I downloaded the Starbucks app. It allowed me to enter a mobile order ahead of time so it would be ready for me when I arrived at the store. It also gave me the option of linking my credit card to my account, so when I got to the payment window of the drive-thru line, all the barista would have to do is scan my phone.

I remember the first time I tried it, I actually had to convince the Starbucks employee that I could pay with my phone. The tech was that new. (This was, of course, long before digital wallets.) And then the thought occurred to me...

If I can buy a cup of gourmet coffee this easily, why can’t people give to their local church with as little friction?

That question set me on a journey to help make giving easier. What I soon discovered is that there are two factors that make digital giving a natural path toward generosity.

Factor # 1: Recurring Giving

With digital giving, church members can easily set up recurring gifts, so that week after week, or pay period after pay period, their tithes and offerings are automatically deducted from their bank account or charged to their credit card.

It used to be that giving required a person to make a new decision, week after week after week, and that decision could tip one way or the other, depending on a number of factors—everything from an unexpected car repair that’s left their banking account a bit smaller than normal, to worries about the economy, to their ability to remember that checkbook on Sunday morning.

But with recurring giving, a person can make their mind up to be a cheerful giver just one time, and then, before long, they will have adjusted to living with that ongoing gift as part of their budget. Recurring payments can be paused or turned off, of course, but most people want to give. Digital, recurring giving just takes some of the friction away.

In truth, recurring giving is nothing new.

For decades, churches have tried to get people on board with the idea of regular and routine giving. Remember those boxes of envelopes churches used to send out to members? Even today, some churches still do this. Why? There’s nothing magic about that envelope, but it was a way of getting a person to write a check and set it aside, so that each week when the offering plate came around, they would remember to give their tithe.

Recurring giving on a digital platform is much easier and much cleaner, but the idea is basically the same.

There’s another reason why recurring giving increases generosity. Think about today’s world. No longer are Sundays reserved solely for church attendance and rest. Instead, some families attend their kids’ soccer games. Other people have found extra mobility being able to do their job remotely, so they travel more and aren’t always around on Sunday morning.

Giving used to be tied to a giving moment on Sunday mornings. You know the one—the organist plays special music, the ushers come forward with a stack of offering plates, and the people in the pews wait for the plate to pass by as they scramble to write a check. Once that moment was gone, though, so was the opportunity to give. Now, however, a family who may only attend church once or twice a month because of scheduling conflicts can still give faithfully.

Factor # 2: Give Anytime, Anywhere

The second factor that makes digital giving perfect for increasing generosity is the ability to give anytime, anywhere. Now, it’s possible to give simply by reaching for the phone in your pocket. With giving apps and text-to-give, a person can give whenever—and wherever—the Lord prompts them.

This solves the “I forgot my checkbook” problem. You know the one. Someone forgets their checkbook and makes a mental note to give twice as much next time. But next time, it’s more difficult than they imagined to write such a large check. The paralysis that follows can mean an intended offering is missed or giving is pushed aside altogether.

But these days everyone has their phone with them at all times. We use our phones as an essential communication device, our day planner, our entertainment hub, our banking center, and a hundred other things besides.

People are seldom without their phone, which means they are seldom without the ability to give.

The other thing I love about being able to give anytime, anywhere, is that we have all been freed to give spontaneously. The apostle Paul told the believers in Corinth, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

There are two pieces to this verse that should inform our giving. First, we should give what we have decided in our hearts beforehand to give. As we’ve already seen, mobile giving removes virtually all the barriers to that sort of giving.

The second type of giving, which is of course not mutually exclusive of the first, is cheerful giving. With the ability to give directly from the phones in our pockets, we can now give above and beyond whenever the Spirit prompts us to do so.

Here’s an example of what I mean: Does your church or denomination have a missions conference? There will be those who attend in order to hear the fascinating stories of missionaries at work in the far reaches of the world, but those same people may not realize how great the financial needs are on the frontiers of the Great Commission—until they’ve heard firsthand from the missionaries your church supports. In that moment, they may want to give. The phones in their pockets will allow them to do just that, right then and there.

How to Create a Culture of Generosity

Maybe, as a church, you’ve dipped your toe into the world of digital giving. Perhaps your website is equipped to take credit card payments, but you’ve never really gone all in on a mobile giving platform like Tithe.ly or one of our competitors.

That’s actually wonderful news! You now stand before a great opportunity to change the culture of your church for years to come.

This could be the beginning of a whole new adventure in following Jesus toward greater generosity as a local body of believers.

Over the years, I’ve learned that shifts in culture, especially within a church, don’t happen overnight, nor do they happen spontaneously. They are planned and are usually initiated by the leadership of a congregation. To fully embrace digital giving, there are normally three stages:

Stage # 1: Scriptural Understanding

In the business world, the underlying motivation for existence is to make a profit. Whether you’re leading a firm that makes umbrellas, automobiles, or next-generation rocket engines, the bottom line is, well, the bottom line.

Not so with a church. Churches are nonprofit, and that sometimes means Christians push financial concerns to the side. But let’s remember the marching orders Jesus left His disciples. He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20).

The mission we’ve been given is a big one! We are to go into ALL THE WORLD—and that takes resources, financial and otherwise. If we are serious about doing our part to fulfill the great commission, it will mean giving like the mission Jesus gave us matters deeply to us.

This doesn’t mean that every church should be a mega-church, but in my mind, it does mean that every church should desire to grow, to reach more people, and to make a bigger impact on their community and the world.

Well-meaning Christians can disagree on whether tithing is a practice that should be continued by believers today, but everyone should agree that God wants His people to be sacrificial givers. In that sense, generosity is about more than the money collected; it’s about our hearts.

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24). When we understand that Jesus redeemed us on the cross, not in part but in whole, we begin to realize that everything we have, everything we are, and everything we do belong to Him. We are just stewards, managers, and servants.

The money we earn and the money we’ve collected in our bank accounts belong to our King—so let’s live like it.

Having a Biblical understanding of generosity is the first stage of culture change, but in truth, there are really two pieces to this stage. It’s important for pastors and leaders to first walk through the Scriptures and come to a clear understanding of Jesus’ calling as well as their church’s role in doing the work of the kingdom here on earth.

The second piece is to teach these truths to everyone in the congregation—not one time, not for a single sermon series, but in a sustained and continual way. If you, as a pastor or church leader, can communicate your heart and vision for increased generosity, people will follow.

This leads to the second phase of changing culture…

Stage # 2: Practical Application

So, now that you and your church—hopefully, most of your church—understand God’s calling to generosity and growth for the sake of reaching more people, the next phase is to create a practical plan. Again, this usually starts with the leadership. It’s important to be able to talk about how your church is going to do its part to fulfill the Great Commission. Will you:

• Build a bigger building to reach more people in your community?

• Plant new churches in your region?

• Support a certain number of full-time missionaries in various places around the globe?

• Strive to meet the practical needs of the poor and vulnerable in your city?

There isn’t a right or wrong answer, and it may be that your vision incorporates more than one goal. Every church has its own personality, and each area has its own unique needs. But as a leader, it’s important to be able to communicate what all this generosity is for.

For example, if you’ve decided God is calling your congregation to expand into a larger space, you’ll need to buy land, plan your building site, and work through the long construction process to get it done. After meeting with real estate agents, architects, contractors, and the like, you’ll have a budget. That’s your financial goal, at least in the short-term. Communicate that goal. Communicate your progress. Communicate how this new building will help you be the hands and feet of Jesus in your community.

People don’t usually get excited about a building; they get excited—and motivated to give—when they can see how that building will be a blessing to themselves and others.

Stage # 3: Using and Incorporating the Tech

Finally, we get to online giving, mobile giving, and text-to-give. These are simply tools to help people in your church translate the generosity that Scripture teaches, and their hearts have aligned with into the real world.

Once everyone is on board with your church’s plan to build something for the kingdom, these digital tools provide a pathway to success. But remember—they’re only tools. They remove much of the friction in a giving or fundraising transaction, but true generosity always begins in the heart.

Here are a few recommendations for implementing new giving technology to your congregation.

• Don’t assume one size fits all. Not everyone will be comfortable with text-to-give, and not everyone will want to give through an app. Be sure people know they can still give on the church’s website (the old-fashioned way) or by check or cash in the offering plate (the really old-fashioned way).

• Show people how to use the technology. I suggest demonstrating from the front of your church during a service. Walk people through setup and giving. Show them how easy it can be. Be sure to have a tech-savvy person available for those who need extra help afterward.

• Emphasize the reason for increased generosity. Remind your people what Scripture says and what your goals are as a community of faith. Giving can change everything, but it’s not really about money, and people should know that.

• Go all in on recurring giving. If there is any single key to increased generosity wrought by technology, this is it. When people can decide ahead of time what they will give and know that they’ll never miss a donation, everyone wins.

Embracing the New

The church has a long track record of embracing technology to serve the kingdom. We Christians might not always be the first to adopt new tech, but when we do adopt it, we’re quick to see the tremendous potential.

In the heyday of radio, preachers clamored to the airwaves to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. When television rolled in, there were suddenly shows dedicated to sharing the Gospel with the lost. And, of course, for the last few decades, the internet has been a vibrant place both to debate and to disciple.

One Big Idea: Digital payment technologies are here to stay—at least until they’re supplanted by something better—and they can be used to further the kingdom and fulfill the Great Commission. So, the only question that remains is this: What are you waiting for?

Dean is the co-founder and CEO of Tithe.ly. Before launching Tithe.ly, Dean was involved in ministry for more than 30 years. During this time, he planted over 50 churches and raised millions of dollars to spread the Gospel, equip leaders, and see lives transformed by Jesus. When Dean is not encouraging his team and helping churches grow, he enjoys spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren.