6 Ways You Can Lead Your Church to Give

Here are six of the most popular ways you can lead the people in your church to give. After reading through this list, take the time at the end to think through the best options for your church.

Does everyone in your church know how they can give?

Think about it.

On any given Sunday, do the people who participate in the worship service know how they can support your church's ministry?

It's easy to assume everyone knows the options they have available. But this may not be the case.

Over the past several years, technological advancements have made it easy and affordable for local churches to provide multiple options for people to give. Of course, online giving is one of the most popular options. Today, it's one of the fastest growing church communication trends. 

Often times, after introducing new digital giving options for people, a church leader may not regularly provide the congregation with this information. If your church regularly has visitors and new members, then this group of people may not know how they can support your church, or how they can enter into financial partnership with your church. 

Ways to Give

Here are six of the most popular ways you can lead the people in your church to make charitable donations. After reading through this list, take the time at the end to think through the best options for your church, and how you can present these options during church bulletin video announcements, church events, and Sunday services. 

#1: Write a check or give cash

Writing a check or making a cash offering has been a common practice for many years. Depending on the demographics of your church, this may be the most common or least preferred way for people to tithe or give one-time gifts. 

What is the best way for people to give cash or write a check? Is it in the offering plate during the worship service? Can they mail their check to your office? Drop it off during the week at your church's office? Is there a container people can leave their cash contributions?

Even though the world is trending towards mobile and online giving, make sure people who prefer to write a check or give cash know the best way to do so.

#2: Envelopes

You can give people an option to provide their debit or credit card information on church envelopes. 

#3: Give online

Do you provide a way for people to give to your church online? If so, then let people know during the offering that they can give online. This typically includes the option to give via credit card transactions, debit card withdrawals, or even an automatic bank withdrawal. Online giving often includes the option to make an automated payment, including an automatic bank deposit, to the church (For an example, see the giving page from Grace Church). 

You will also want to make this known in your bulletin and/or giving envelopes. This way people who typically don't carry checks or cash will be aware that they can give to your church online at your website or even church app.

Note that online giving also has built-in protection for security purposes. Online giving also often includes transaction fees. By using Tithe.ly, churches can provide the option for donors to cover the fees (Take a look at this example from North Coast Church.)

#4: Mobile giving

Many people, especially millennials, prefer to give through their mobile phone. Smart phones have turned into the primary way many people stay connected, shop, and even bank. Many of our daily activities are carried out through a variety of mobile apps. We might manage our money, monitor health, make purchases, and yes, tithe through an app. 

Providing people with a mobile  church app (like the one offered by Tithe.ly ) will help create a seamless experience for them.

If you have a mobile church app available, make sure people know they can download it.

#5: Text-to-give

Apart from dropping cash in an offering plate, text giving may be one of the easiest, fastest, and most convenient ways people can give. It's also a great option for year-end giving campaigns, making it simple for congregants to make a special offering during a church service or event. 

If you accept offerings via text, then make sure people know your church's giving number. If you're providing this option for the first time, then consider demonstrating for your church how to give this way.

With Tithe.ly you can add a text-to-give option and get your own giving number, for as little as $19 a month.

#6: Kiosk giving

Today, you don't have to invest thousands of dollars to turn a kiosk into a giving station. You can easily turn a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer into a giving kiosk. This makes it easy for people coming and going and mingling in the foyer to give at their convenience.

Convenient solutions

There are several ways you can help people give to your church. In the end, focus on a few choices   especially if you are introducing new choices.

For example, if you have a screen in your worship center, then you can display a PowerPoint slide and talk about the different ways people can give. If you do not have a screen, then you can print the options people have in your bulletin. This way they can learn how they can give.

As for you, it's important to have a system that helps you to easily manage donations. When it comes to mobile giving, text-to-give, online giving, kiosk giving, and processing debit or credit card information from envelopes, Tithe.ly packs all of them into one easy-to-use platform.

If you're interested in providing new options for the people in your church to give or you need one convenient way to manage your church's giving, then visit Tithe.ly to learn more.

How Many Types of Giving Are in the Bible?

There are four main types of giving in scripture – much more if you consider all the ways you can volunteer your time, gifts, and skills.

1. Benevolence (or Alms)

This type of giving is specifically set aside for helping the poor with money, food, shelter, and resources. This might be buying a meal for someone without a home, or it might be a regular giving opportunity in your church community to be prepared as a church body to routinely support those causes.

Benevolence or Alms are talked about in both the New and Old Testaments. 

Alms were first introduced in the Pentateuch:

If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. (Deuteronomy 15:7-8)

In the Gospels, Jesus spoke of benevolence in the famous Sermon on the Mount:

So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:2-4)

Finally, Paul talked about benevolence in the Epistles:

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)

Alms are also mentioned in the book of Hebrews, Acts, Proverbs, Luke, 1 Timothy, 1 John, and more.

2. Tithing 

Tithing refers to the Biblical principal of giving one-tenth of your total income to the Lord. It was first introduced in the book of Genesis, when Abraham tithes to the priest Melchizedek. 

And he blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
    Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
    who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

(Genesis 14:19-20)

Later on, tithing becomes a law for the Israelites. In 2 Chronicles, we see a detailed description of what tithing looks like in a cashless society:

And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the Law of the Lord. 5 As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field. And they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. (2 Chronicles 31:4-5)

At the end of the OT, the prophet Malachi promises that blessing and abundance will follow those who are obedient to tithe: 

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. (Malachi 3:10)

Though tithing isn't explicitly described in the New Testament, Jesus certainly calls his followers to radical generosity, such as in the story of the widow who gives all she has in Mark 12. 

3.Peace Offering

In the Old Testament, the peace offering was made for three different purposes: to express worship, to fulfill a vow, and to give thanksgiving for God's deliverance. The peace offering is more explicitly described in the book of Leviticus: 

And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that one may offer to the Lord. If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the thanksgiving sacrifice unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of fine flour well mixed with oil.  (Leviticus 7:11)

While peace offerings may not be frequently talked about in church today, they can give perspective to the purpose of generosity as both an act of love and an act of worship and obedience. In other words, the attitude of generosity isn't one of mere obligation; it's an act of sacrifice and thanksgiving to God. 

Your Generosity Makes a Difference

The church operates, runs, and serves because of the generosity of its congregants. Without generosity, the church would be unable to host services, teach and spread the Gospel, fund missionaries and mission to trips to cities and countries in need, serve individuals in the community in need, teach children, provide Christ-centered education, offer counseling, and the list goes on. 

Church to Give FAQs

Here are some of the most common questions asked about giving to church. 

What Are Ways to Tithe?

Tithing is generally defined as 10% of your gross income. However, how you choose to set aside this money, when you choose to give, and how you choose to make a payment can vary. For example, you may choose to set aside your tithe immediately when you are paid. You may choose to calculate your tithe at the end of each month or quarter. Or you may choose to tithe annually or bi-annually. 

You can tithe in the following ways:

- Make a credit card payment (some platforms will give you the option of covering card processing fees).

- Make a debit card gift. 

- Write a check or give cash. 

Tithe.ly also offers the option of giving cryptocurrency as a tithe.

What Are Offerings in Church?

Offerings in church  can look like a financial tithe, a one-time cash gift, or even a gift in kind.

Gifts in kind are goods or services that may be valuable to the church. They can include equipment, vehicles, furniture, and supplies, or even intangibles such as transportation or support with marketing or publishing. Like cash giving, gifts in kind include deductible contributions. 

How Do You Show Support to the Church?

Generosity is a great way to show support to the church. By giving cash, goods, or services, you become a partner in helping to fund and support the Kingdom of God through ministry and missions. Platforms like Tithe.ly make that easier than ever, with giving on a church app, via text, and more.