From Leadership Blog: Out of UR
September 25, 2007
ATMs: Automatic Tithing Machines
How can you pass the plate to people who don’t carry cash? You can’t. So
the next big wave may be the “Giving Kiosk” in your church’s lobby.
“A lot of people no longer carry cash or a checkbook,” says Marty
Baker, pastor of Stevens Creek Church in Augusta, Georgia. So he
installed two ATMs in 2005. The experiment has been a success.
During the first year, the kiosks processed over $100,000 in
donations at Stevens Creek. In 2006, that number increased to just over
$200,000, representing more than 25 percent of the church’s total
income. Even more impressive is the fact that giving as a whole
increased 18 percent since the ATMs were installed. “It’s a safe,
convenient way for people to donate to their church,” Baker notes, “and
it meets people where they are today.”
These positive returns encouraged Baker to launch SecureGive, a
for-profit company that produces and maintains several different
versions of the giving kiosks. “We knew that if this concept and
technology was so beneficial for our church, others could benefit from
it as well,” says Baker.
SecureGive currently operates in 25 churches around the country. One of them is
Family Church in West Monroe, Louisiana, where Terry Taylor is the
executive pastor. “We wanted to help those who were not giving to start
walking in obedience,” says Taylor. “We feel that is being achieved.”
Princeton Pike Church of God in Hamilton, Ohio, had featured online
giving for years, but the service was used consistently by only ten
families. The church engaged SecureGive in January and now has more
than 150 families contributing regularly through the giving kiosk.
The company points out an array of practical advantages. One example
is a decreased risk of embezzlement, since donated funds are
transferred directly into a church’s bank account, bypassing the
counting committee. And the kiosk documents satisfy Internal Revenue
Service regulations requiring taxpayers to present a written statement
from a bank or charitable organization when claiming a deduction on
their returns.
Phil Martin of the National Association of Church Business
Administrators says that Automated Tithing Machines might only be the
beginning. “Whether we’ll have an offering plate with a card reader one
day, who knows,” he said. “But we’re certainly not far from that.”
8 responses so far ↓
1 Amber // Sep 25, 2007 at 11:28 am
Yeah I was very strongly against online giving when the subject was broached at my church. They went ahead with it but I don’t know who actually uses it. Fortunately, we don’t have a permanent location so something like that hopefully won’t show up. I definitely have issue with it.
2 Sam Andress // Sep 25, 2007 at 11:45 am
I’m going to refrain from comment. Thanks JR for raising my blood pressure a little this morning.
3 Nick G // Sep 25, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Maybe I am ignorant, but I am not sure what the disatisfaction is here with this type of thing. Is it the comments? the idea? I am almost scared to ask, but could someone clarify?
4 Amber // Sep 25, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Nick.. my dissatisfaction with this sort of thing is looking at it from the angle of, someone is making money off people’s tithes and offerings. Every Credit Card or Debit Card transaction comes with a price tag. So far I know of only one organization who doesn’t have to pay it and that’s KIVA. As far as I know, unless there’s some NPO loophole that I don’t know about (because I know alot about the retail side of things) the church is paying between 3 and 5% of each transaction to whoever for processing the cards. That’s my main beef with it to be honest.
Otherwise, it’s the principle of the thing. C’mon people, you don’t forget to write your rent check and if you can’t remember to bring it to church with you, mail it. Stamps aren’t that expensive.
5 JR Rozko // Sep 25, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Though I would agree with Amber, my qualms with this phenomenon has more of a theological bent to it.
Tithing was a practice instituted by God as a means by which…
1. The people of God became dependent on one another
2. The disparity between the poor and rich was alleviated
3. And those who served as priests (ie. full-time ministers) were provided for
The very fabric of the practice has to do with what it means to be a contrast society - the people of God whose identity hinges on their existence as those who live for the sake of others.
This individualistic approach to the transfer of funds misses that point almost entirely as it relegates the act of giving to…
1. Mere financial giving
2. The convenience of the individual
3. An impersonal act of obligation
It is one more example of how badly we have lost what it means to be a people who exist for the sake of the world and have become utterly consumed with keeping the machine running by any and all means necessary.
In terms of tithing, the greatest need in our churches is not to make it easier or more convenient, but to recover its truly sacrificial, public, and communal intent.
I have written on this more extensively here…
http://www.box.net/encoded/2535937/72230803/efda0e9db66ca785a39f41554eda249a
6 Alex Rozko // Sep 26, 2007 at 5:47 am
That’s insane. I appreciate the article and the comments. Sometimes it’s difficult to change our attitudes with innovation. People generally don’t accept change rapidly and once something becomes common we often don’t think about how dramatic the change really is.
On a slight side note. The automotive industry has always had to limit their level of design because the general public doesn’t react well to highly designed and innovative creations.
It’s discouraging that this honestly has such a drastic difference in the offerings. I think in this day of age you either move with current (which is never fun) or develop your own system that is more contemporary but follows the traditions in a biblical sense.
Challenges like these should be an inspiration for thought. Good luck.
7 jason // Sep 28, 2007 at 6:29 am
jr - i don’t comment here for fear i’ll be graded. but…
i appreciate reading your theological qualms; your point about becoming dependent on one another especially resonates with me. this is a feature of christian community that is totally lost on us. as i see it, it unlocks the door for #’s 2 & 3, which could explain why we struggle with them, especially #2.
the rub is that the entire purpose of our economic culture is exactly the opposite: individual autonomy. one could call it a secular eschatological hope…to be completely and truly independent (or, the american dream). i know of entire households that strive to achieve complete individual economic autonomy for every member of the family - everyone has their own separate income and pays their own separate bills, and refuses to help the one who sometimes can’t make it.
when churches literally capitalize on this secular eschatological hope, we make the opposite of disciples.
8 JR Rozko // Oct 1, 2007 at 2:09 pm
“Secular eschatological hope.”
A+
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