{"id":32468,"date":"2022-09-10T16:10:44","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/e-giving-vs-old-giving-new-research-on-church-donations\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:10:44","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:10:44","slug":"e-giving-vs-old-giving-new-research-on-church-donations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/e-giving-vs-old-giving-new-research-on-church-donations\/","title":{"rendered":"E-Giving Vs. Old Giving: New Research on Church Donations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Aaron Earls<\/em><\/p>\n

More churches are adding online giving, but the tried-and-true offering plate still brings in the most money.<\/p>\n

A recent study found 74 percent of U.S. churches offer congregants the ability to give online. That\u2019s up from 42 percent just a few years ago in 2015.<\/p>\n

The Dunham+Company\/Campbell Rinker study asked 512 church leaders and administrators about their churches\u2019 giving options.<\/p>\n

Larger churches\u2014those with 200 or more attendees\u2014saw a jump in online giving. In 2015, 70 percent of larger churches offered online giving. That climbed to 90 percent in 2017.<\/p>\n

The largest increase, however, happened in smaller churches\u2014those with fewer than 200 attendees. In 2015, only 29 percent used online giving. Last year, that number more than doubled to 59 percent.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Among churches with an annual budget of less than $250,000, the number offering online giving doubled from 27 percent to 54 percent.<\/p>\n

There was a similar increase among churches with fewer than three paid staff members\u201430 percent in 2015 to 58 percent in 2017.<\/p>\n

While churches are increasingly providing the option to members, it\u2019s unclear how often people actually take advantage of it.<\/p>\n

In 2015, 12 percent of church giving came from online. That rose slightly to 15 percent in 2017, with the increase coming from larger churches.<\/p>\n

The share of money collected through the offering plate at larger churches declined only 6 percentage points from 2015 to 2017\u2014from 80 percent to 74 percent.<\/p>\n

Smaller churches, despite the large jump in the number who offer online giving, had no real change in the budget percentage given through the offering plate.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
See also  Why Pastors Must Acknowledge Their Own Needs<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 2015, 81 percent of smaller churches\u2019 budgets came from the offering plate. In 2017, it was 80 percent.<\/p>\n

Smaller churches actually brought in a lower percentage of their budget online. It declined from 12 percent to 8 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough smaller churches have begun to adopt online giving as an option, it\u2019s clear that the trend is not catching on with congregants,\u201d said Trent Dunham, president of Dunham+Company.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Aaron Earls<\/h2>\n

@WardrobeDoor<\/p>\n

\n

Aaron is a writer for LifewayResearch.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n