Giving to the church online has been a point of discussion in DPC staff meetings since our start.
We have looked at what people say are the benefits and the negatives, as well as the ethics of giving online to the church. And by the way we are not currently doing this.
It seems strange to me to ONLY allow people to give to the church 1 or 2 times a weeks during a 3 or 4 minute interval during or right after the gathering time. The idea is that giving financially is part of the worship time and I get that. I am all for it, but limiting giving doesn't seem like the most effect way to increase givers to the church. And worship is not only one certain time every week, so why can we only give financially one time a week? I know a big part of this innovation is the fact that card services charge for the service. So...if someone gives 100$ bucks some of that money goes to pay for the service. Not much money but still the entire gift does not make it to the church. This could pose a problem for some and to them I say bring the gift on Sunday or mail it in to the church, but most people use debt cards for purchases all week. They pay their bills with the card, they buy from ebay, they give to charities online that touch their heart, they use the internet to make life a little bit easier.
That is my biggest reason for supporting online giving. I want to make giving to the church as accessible as possible . Any way to raise the value of giving in the church is a step in the right direction in my opinion. Give online. Give on Sunday. Give by mail or billpay. The point is making giving a real part of the church's life.
