By Joanne Stassen
They haven’t yet installed an ATM in the church lobby, but it might be the next step.
That’s the joke church treasurer Lou Ranahan cracks when asked if church members at Metropolitan Bible Church use direct debit to give their offering
As it turns out, they do. Only two years after its introduction, 10 per cent of the Met’s nearly $2 million annual budget comes from regular churchgoers who pay by direct debit.
It’s the same method many people use to pay their phone bill or cable company. Since the mid 1990’s, churches in Ottawa have been using the modern banking technology to encourage their members to give regularly.
Instead of putting a cheque or cash in the offering plate every week, churchgoers can fill out a form indicating how much they would like to give and how often. The bank then debits their account at the set interval, and credits the church.
“Particularly, the youngest half of our congregation tend to meet all their financial commitments that way, it’s part of their financial planning,” Ranahan says.
Morrey Cross, the treasurer at All Saints Anglican Church in Westboro, says direct debit makes sense for church administration as well.
“From the church’s perspective it assures a regular monthly income, regardless of whether people are in church,” Cross says.
In the past, a church like All Saints would have struggled to pay the bills during the summer when members are on holiday, and weekly offerings go down.
With the direct debit plan, Cross says the church is able to meet its financial commitments throughout the year.
Not all churches are rushing to sign up their members for direct debit, however.
“We don’t do it because we feel bringing your offering to church is part of the worship experience,” says Joyce Boucher, the administrator for the Life Centre in Gloucester.
Although the Life Centre has decided not to use direct debit, they do accept credit cards. Instead of putting a cheque or cash in the offering baskets, people indicate on their offering envelope that they will be paying by VISA or MasterCard.
“People can choose to do that on a weekly or monthly basis,” Boucher says.
She estimates that two to three per cent of the church’s offering comes in that way.
Even congregations that have embraced automatic debit don’t simply do it for convenience. Cross says there is actually a theological case to be made for direct debit tithing. It supports the Biblical principal of stewardship.
“It encourages people to be intentional in their giving, and not just to give on a random basis,” he says.
At Knox Presbyterian on Elgin Street, Rev. Stephen Hayes says about 25 people give their offering through the direct debit system.
He’s not totally convinced direct debit has made a huge difference in the consistency of giving at his church.
“I sometimes think the people who sign up for debit are the ones who would give regularly in any case.”
He has noticed one benefit from direct debit, however. It’s reduced the amount of time it takes to count the offering every week.