How To Explain Church Giving Apps To Your Parents

Older generations are not always as quick to adapt to changing technology. If your parents are resistant to the idea of using church giving apps, using the right message can help win them over.

At Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville, North Carolina, senior churchgoers have made it clear that they are capable of using modern technology. Around 25% of the total donations received by the church are made electronically, and their average parishioner is over 60 years old.

It can be done! But how can you best explain church giving apps to your parents?

Compare Church Giving Apps To Debit Cards

Paying with a debit card was once a brand new concept. Somewhere along the line, just about everyone has become comfortable with the process. Even older adults have made online shopping part of their day-to-day life. According to Tyler Shields, a senior analyst for Forrester, using mobile giving apps is no different:

Look at it this way: when you buy something online using a credit card, a website is literally doing the exact same thing. If designed properly, that’s all a mobile app is…a component to access data stored on a server.

If your parents do a lot of online shopping using credit or debit cards, this comparison should comfort them. There is no reason for them to be concerned about the safety of their personal information while using church giving apps.

Emphasize the Benefits

Simply telling someone that church giving apps are great is not going to be very convincing. Instead, demonstrate how they will personally benefit. Show them the real perks of making the switch to mobile giving.

Make sure to touch on these points:

• You don’t need to get cash back at the store or visit a bank or ATM in order to give.
• Even if you don’t have cash in your wallet or purse, you can still make an offering.
• You can make a donation to church from anywhere, at any time — not only during service.

Walk Them Through It

Now that they know the benefits of using church giving apps, the next step is to show them how these apps work. Give them a short walk-through of how to download the app, how to search for their church, and how to make a donation.

Once your parents see how simple church giving apps really are, and how they can benefit from using them, they will be excited to make use of the technology.