Church Giving: The Five Truths About Tithing

The truth is, motivating churchgoers to tithe has always been a priority. Tithing is necessary for good church health and growth. Regular church giving helps keep the church operational, and people who choose to give regularly become the most committed, “plugged-in” church body members.

To ensure your ministry stays financially stable and your members stay connected, you must understand the truths about tithing to church and how Givelify can help.

1. Here’s the truth: Regular tithers comprise only 10 to 25% of a typical church congregation.

That statistic — from Christianity Today — is of particular interest because churchgoers tend to self-report higher percentages of church giving than research indicates. This is likely because they do not realize how frequently (or infrequently) they give.

In reality, a smaller-than-suspected percentage of members participate in church giving. Do you see this trend happening in your ministry?

2. Churchgoers today give less on average than during the Great Depression.

According to an article in Church Leaders, churchgoers today give — on average — 2.5% per capita for their tithe. During the Great Depression, churchgoers gave 3.3% per capita on average.

This decrease in church giving can’t be chalked up to less financial prosperity. Despite having more disposable income, the truth about tithing is that people today still give less to the church.

3. Churches that experience the most significant levels of giving are transparent in the truth about tithing.

Churchgoers tend to be the most generous when the need is presented. Simply asking for money week after week without sharing where the money goes or how it is being used is asking for a lackluster response.

People like to understand the truth about how their hard-earned dollars will be used to further the mission. When you share this information, you will see more regular financial support coming from your membership.

4. Attendees give more, on average, when churches offer multiple churches giving solutions.

Churches are one of the last remaining institutions that require cash or check. With the advent of debit and credit cards came a sudden and distinct shift in how people carry money. For younger generations, there are other priorities than carrying cash or checkbooks.

It’s somewhat archaic. The hard truth about tithing is that with today’s jam-packed schedules and swirling priorities, it isn’t always top of mind for churchgoers to grab cash or checks on their way out the door to the church.

Relying on cash and checks is no longer an option. Churches must provide multiple avenues for members to make financial contributions if they want everyone to participate. When places of worship offer more giving methods, their members give more.

The more options a church provides, the greater the likelihood that people will give — because you cater to every member’s needs.

5. Mobile giving significantly increases a church’s ability to ask for and receive critical tithes.

Looking at the facts about tithing today, the natural question arises, “How do we motivate financially capable church members to tithe regularly?” The answer is by implementing mobile giving.

Your members may not carry cash and checks as often as they did in the past, but they have smartphones. If you want your members to give more consistently and generously, put a giving solution in the palm of their hands. Allow them to give at any time, from anywhere.

Remove the hurdles that stand in their way.

Givelify is the #1 rated and most-downloaded mobile giving app on the market. Generous givers at your place of worship need to know the truth about tithing, and they need an easy way to tithe when the moment to give arises. Givelify allows your members to set up automatic recurring offerings, too.

Making the process convenient and effortless can turn even the most infrequent givers into the most generous congregants. Sign up with Givelify for free now and test drive the app and dashboard to see for yourself.

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