Only about a third of Protestant churches in the US offer the option to give online, according to new data from LifeWay Research.
The US-based research company said a phone survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors showed that only about 30 per cent of their churches offered online giving, up from 14 per cent in 2010. Bigger churches were much more likely to do so with 74 per cent of churches with congregations greater than 250 offering the facility compared with just 39 per cent of churches with congregations between 100 and 249 and 23 per cent of churches with congregations of 100 or less.
Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, said he had expected the overall figure to be higher, given that a recent 2017 report showed 56 per cent of Americans paid bills online. “Technology is great, but smaller churches still like to pass the plate,” he noted.
The survey, which was conducted between 30th August and 18th September last year, also found that 68 per cent of churches offered wi-fi for guests and staff and that 84 per cent had a website. The same proportion also had a Facebook page (84 per cent) but only 16 per cent had a Twitter page and 13 per cent were on Instagram.
Of those churches with a website, 99 per cent said they used it to inform the congregation, 71 per cent to recruit volunteers or let people know about their ministries, and 47 per cent for event registration while 23 per cent said they had a secure, online directory of members.
“Not long ago churches’ use of technology was often limited to a website that functioned like the Yellow Pages or a bulletin board,” said Mr McConnell. “Now they see technology as a way to interact with people. Wi-fi is just one more way to do that.”
