With more than 60 percent of all workers in the U.S. receiving their paychecks through an automatic deposit and an increasing number of consumers paying their bills through electronic funds transfer, more and more churches are checking into check-less offerings. But does a tithe mean less if it isn't as physical an act of worship as writing a check or putting money into an envelope? Does stewardship require a signature, sealed envelope or stamp?
Teaching and technology
"I think our time is better spent teaching the people what God's Word says about who owns it and how they ought to handle what God has entrusted to them rather than teaching them how to use an electronic system," said Jack Wilkerson, Southern Baptist Convention vice president for business and finance and a referral counselor for Crown Financial Ministries.
"My heart is that churches and pastors across this country that are charged with teaching the entire Word of God best spend their time teaching their people [to give]," Wilkerson said.
Mario McGowan, president and CEO of Direct Tithing, also said he is burdened to communicate the importance of stewardship to Christians.
"Christians need to understand they are robbing God," McGowan said. "When God said ‘Bring me all the tithes,' that's been one of the key issues Christians are avoiding. Every time you get paid you're supposed to tithe."
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McGowan said he was deeply disturbed when he heard those statistics. "I really wept, I cried, my heart was broken," he said.
McGowan is an ordained minister and a former businessman. He said Direct Tithing was a God-given mission that he undertook in August of 2002.
"I believe in my heart that God has commissioned Direct Tithing to reestablish the covenant. Tithing is all about a covenant. That was God's system to fund the kingdom of God," he said. "The electronic piece of it brings it into the 21st Century."
He said the electronic funds transfer system, available on-line for both churches and church members, simply replaces 52 decisions to give a weekly offering, with one decision to enroll in the process. Church members can sign-up on-line to tithe automatically weekly, monthly or bi-monthly through an EFT from their bank account.
"I believe this is God's way of saying, ‘I want my people to be consistent and faithful,'" McGowan said. The service costs church members about $1 a month.
Virtual sacrifice?
Randy Tompkins, stewardship and cooperative program director for the Louisiana Baptist Convention, said his concern about electronic giving is a congregation's awareness about tithing.
"I think electronic giving is convenient," Tompkins said, "but it doesn't do anything for an awareness of giving." He said his church, Calvary Baptist of Alexandria, La., offers EFT to church members, but only about two dozen of the 1,700 contributors opt to use it.
Other churches, such as the American Baptist Church USA, some Catholic parishes, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, have adopted electronic giving more wholeheartedly.
More cyber storehouses to come
George Eusterman, director of Egiving Systems, one of the larger companies involved in electronic tithing, said more virtual collection plates are coming, especially for para-church organizations.
"I think it's just beginning," Eusterman said. He has worked with CheckFree, the nation's largest processor, for 20 years, focusing on ministry since 2002.
Half of the interest for Egiving comes from para-church ministries such as missions organizations, crisis pregnancy centers, street ministries, etc., Eusterman said. "They seem to be the most affected by funding issues," he said.
But even for churches, Eusterman said Egiving is "meant to enhance the goals of the ministry and not be a convenience issue for the giver."
Egiving's services also include training in tithing, such as Scriptural lessons in giving, and marketing support for their clients. "It all comes down to how you ask for it," Eusterman said.
Asking for money
But when it comes to asking, most preachers say they'd rather speak on any other topic besides money. So some see electronic giving as a cop out for preaching and teaching on stewardship.
Wilkerson, a Southern Baptist, said that although he is not opposed to using technology for giving, in too many cases it has replaced discipleship in the church. "Mainline denominations are using it today because they're looking for a way to prop up sagging giving," he said.
But even among Southern Baptists, who have seen an increase in giving over the past 12 years, Tompkins said, "Under 3 percent of a family's income is tithed on average."
And not all families are tithing. Church consultant Lyle Schaller recently reported about 15 percent of church members give 85 percent of the offering.
Direct Tithing's McGowan uses a formula based on an average salary of $36,000 and an average church size of 100 to point out that even a smaller church would be making $360,000 annually if all its members were tithing.
Consistent and convenient giving
McGowan claims that electronic giving eliminates the lag in offerings most churches experience from May to September. With electronic giving, the money doesn't go on vacation.
Other churches use envelopes and mail systems for out-of-town offerings, but systems such as Direct Tithing, or ParishPay are just as simple and the cost is incurred by the church member for membership and transaction fees that top out around $20 a year.
Direct Tithing also provides cards for members to put into the offering plate that indicate their gift has been made electronically. McGowan and Eusterman also pointed out that their electronic systems eliminate time and money a church may otherwise spend dealing with checks and cash.
"This is my answer for those who say, ‘Well is electronic tithing holy?'" McGowan said. "I answer with the question, ‘Are bounced checks holy?'"
For more in this series, read: Church tech, part one: Powering up the pulpit and Church tech, part two: The virtual world of data.
