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Open Categories Menu Churches accepting Credit Cards?
- 1 July, 2007 -
- Technology -
- Tags : Technology
- 1 Comment
The Dallas Morning News takes a look the positives and negatives of churches accepting offerings via credit cards and bank drafts. Most of the churches accepted plastic over the Internet, but a few churches were using giving kiosks– ATM like devices where people swipe their cards and enter their donation amount.
Churches accepting credit cards argued that the technology made it easier for people to give and that they avoided the summer offering slump. Other churches argued that giving via plastic of bank draft eliminated the worship aspect of giving. Also, Christian financial advisors have frowned on plastic giving. Well-know Christian Financial Guru Dave Ramsey was quoted by the DMN, “Churches ought to be about solving [problem] areas, not contributing to them.”
A related survey from the National Association of Church Business Administration of church administrators revealed that 70 percent of churches surveyed accept bank drafts and 55 percent accept credit cards. Of course this survey is skewed toward larger churches that actually have church administrators.
It seems like there is a difference between credit card giving and bank drafts, but I must agree that bank drafts make giving seem more like a “bill” and less like worship.