Many churches don’t have a great church website––yet. Maybe it’s because of a lack of budget, time, or staff, but if you’re in this camp, it doesn’t mean you have to be completely offline. In fact, chances are your whole church would love it if they could participate online in support of their church.
The reality is, carrying around a checkbook is getting a bit old school. Even carrying cash is! How can you accommodate those trends when you don’t have a website?
Offer them online giving. That’s right, we said it. Even without a full church website.
When it comes to online giving, don’t underestimate the older generation.
One of the most common concerns we hear is from church communicators with a mostly older community. If you’ve thought older church members won't want to give online because they might feel out of their element in doing so, take heart.
Starting with a simple URL (web address), online giving is actually very easy and there is little learning curve involved. It's also important to note that more and more seniors own a smartphone:
In 2014, over half of all Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 owned a smartphone, and 27 percent of Americans over the age of 65 owned one. And chances are very good that in these past couple years, this number has increased. Even if senior citizens do not own a smartphone, 58% of them use the Internet on some sort of device. And you’re never going to take away the option to go the more traditional route of giving with checks or cash.
Online giving doesn’t actually need a church website.
You heard right—even without a website, members can still participate in online giving with your own unique URL. By making the giving process so accessible, you allow members and visitors to give even when they’re not at church. This allows those who want to give the ability to do so 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
When giving online, users will also have the chance to set up recurring payments. This is great for those who don't like carrying around a checkbook or never have cash on-hand. They simply set up their recurring gift for up to a whole year and change it if they need to.
So don't worry, even though you don't have your website set up, online giving can still help your members stay engaged in the giving process.
