latest Archives | MORE Blessed https://moreblessed.org/category/latest/ MORE Blessed Gives MORE Fri, 15 Sep 2017 18:26:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Your Church Website Can Do More for Your Members and Community https://moreblessed.org/your-church-website-can-do-more/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=your-church-website-can-do-more https://moreblessed.org/your-church-website-can-do-more/#respond Fri, 21 Jul 2017 21:08:00 +0000 http://moreblessed.org/?p=1824 One of the more exciting developments on the internet recently has been the development of new web designs and features targeted to helping churches and ministries. With more attention being directed towards the unique requirements and needs of churches, many website developers have worked diligently to re-think what church [...]

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One of the more exciting developments on the internet recently has been the development of new web designs and features targeted to helping churches and ministries. With more attention being directed towards the unique requirements and needs of churches, many website developers have worked diligently to re-think what church members, visitors, and prospective visitors want to do on a church website. Focusing on broader needs for all nonprofits could include anything from hospitals to political organizations, and only recently have church websites received the attention they deserve.

Churches are all about social interactions. The whole purpose and role churches in their communities fit perfectly with the current expansion of online social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. The roll of church websites is expanding far beyond just a place to get information about church activities. Some of the more creative uses that are emerging for church websites today are:

  • The ability to establish blogs through a church website makes it easy for members to have active input into church projects, goals, and other organizational issues within the church. Blogs on your church website are a great way to get feedback from those church members that may not otherwise participate directly on boards or committees, or take a more active role in weekly church activities.
  • The ability to setup a newsletter page through your church website allows your church members to access the news, current events, and other information related to your church and the weekly messages shared by leadership, teachers, and small group leaders. Distribution of the newsletter can be expanded by email, and will serve as a gentle reminder that your church website is an active place that needs the participation of its members to be successful.
  • With the new video recording abilities on the mobile phones of most church members, the capability of posting video services on church websites for your shit-ins, prospective visitors, and members that have moved out of town is possible. Many churches are reaching out to others in new ways through the church website with live and archived web fees in ways that were not possible or easy just a few years ago.
  • By setting up the ability to accept donations online through their church websites, many churches are seeing a significant increase in new donations from members and supporters that may not be able to attend. Churches also have seen a significant increase from their members generosity. With online giving on a church website, members are able to setup and meet their giving commitment with recurring online tithes and offerings. This feature has allowed churches to meet their own commitments for growth and have a greater impact on their community for the cause of Jesus Christ.

Churches can benefit by adopting some of the new approaches being used on the church websites today. Church websites are becoming a lot more than just a bulletin board, like they used to be. They are becoming an active resource for church members to discuss ideas, come together to support important church initiatives, and better display for the whole community the impact of their faith.

By using these kinds of new capabilities on their church websites, churches can begin to grow in number and in faith, and better reach their local community. With many search engines taking a new focus on providing results at the local level, a church with a well-designed website is in an excellent position to reach-out and impact their community, and engage their members like never before.

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5 Ways Your Church Can Grow Through Technology https://moreblessed.org/5-ways-church-can-grow-technology/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=5-ways-church-can-grow-technology https://moreblessed.org/5-ways-church-can-grow-technology/#respond Thu, 22 Jun 2017 19:51:15 +0000 http://moreblessed.org/?p=1810 As a leader, pastor or elder in your church, the growth of your church is probably a topic that keeps you up at night. Monitoring church growth is only as effective as a church’s ability to track where you have been and where you are going next. Tracking your [...]

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As a leader, pastor or elder in your church, the growth of your church is probably a topic that keeps you up at night. Monitoring church growth is only as effective as a church’s ability to track where you have been and where you are going next. Tracking your growth not only serves the purposes of growth metrics, but it also tells the story of your church. This story is often a connecting point for members and regular attendees. We have found that churches grow by giving members a variety of ways to engage and making communication easy.

It’s no secret that tracking growth by attendance and generosity numbers is a time-honored tradition. Do you remember the church attendance board that was updated every week? Maybe your church still has one, but there is more to the growth story than what’s on that board every week. An accurate count of how many people are attending church each weekend is important, because reporting these numbers regularly shows transparency, but there is more to consider when it comes to growth. It is even more significant to know who is sitting in your seats every single week. Knowing the who behind an attendance number allows church leaders to be aware of the people who make up their church community.

Tracking who is in your church community, their level of involvement, contact information, family members, and giving history is not easy. There has to be a better way to track growth metrics that give more accurate indication of people’s involvement. Thankfully it’s 2017, and the world is at our fingertips with smartphones. As the world has grown to adopt technological solutions for everyday problems, your church should be no exception to this trend.

In fact, your church members and attendees are adopting their faith and the way they live it out in the technological age. Consider these facts:

  • 38% of people increased their Bible readership last year by downloading a Bible app or by listening to religious podcasts and streaming services.
  • In the past 30 days, about 21.5 million adults will have visited the website of their own place of worship.
  • 42% of churches now have online giving.

As these statistics show, technology is integrated into how people engage with the church. Working with many churches over the years, we have been able to identify a few ways that technology solutions have successfully helped churches build engagement, and as a result, experience significant growth.

Here are 5 ways your church can grow through technology:

The Guest Experience

It only takes seven minutes for a guest to form a first impression of your church. Why not engage them not only in your physical building, but also through technology. Have your church app, your church website, social media channels and next points of engagement advertised around your campus (at the guest center, through your volunteers, and the announcements, etc.). With all the opportunities to connect, people are likely to engage in all these ways, and they will notice that you value a connection with your audience beyond the first interaction.

Train and Coordinate Volunteers

Volunteers who understand the importance of their role and are equipped and essential for effective ministry in your church. Technology not only helps you train volunteers with video’s and interactive tools, it helps you manage and communicate with volunteers more effectively. Utilizing specific chat features or group pages that are all within the same platform makes it convenient for volunteers to find information easily.

Track Members, Regular Attenders, and First Time Guests

With an integrated and actively updated database, each person who sets foot in your church can have a profile by volunteering minimal personal information. Information can be captured through church online giving and saved to a profile, and through an online interactive form that can be accessed through a church app or through a link sent via a text message. Whatever you do, gathering information about who is in your church is vital. Technology ensures you will not lose track of people by putting the information you gathered into one place.

Improve Follow-Up with Guests and Communication

You can record a first-time guest’s personal communication preferences on an online form and follow up in a way that’s most appealing to them (email, phone call, text message). Online forms can also help your regular attendees and members easily submit prayer requests, concerns, or praise reports anonymously to church staff during the week without feeling like they are “bothering” them with a phone call or lengthy text message.

Technology Supports the Goal of Growth

Technology improves engagement and retention by making it easier for everyone to find and get involved with a group or connect with your church. Once someone has established relationships with others in your community, technology helps guide them toward taking responsibility for their own spiritual development and for a portion of one of the ministries within the church.

Your church is growing beyond numbers on a Sunday morning attendance board. All it takes is adjusting the medium and mindset of what growth actually looks like. Plus, growth is vital to reaching the lost about the Gospel or good news of Jesus. If we have growing, healthy, and thriving churches, then the message of Christ has no limit. With technology here to stay, it’s invaluable to know how your church has grown in the past and where it’s currently growing. Embracing what church mobile apps, church websites, church online giving, and mobile technologies have to offer can grow our churches and the message of Jesus.

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5 Ways a Church Can Increase Member Engagement With an App https://moreblessed.org/5-ways-church-can-increase-member-engagement-app/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=5-ways-church-can-increase-member-engagement-app https://moreblessed.org/5-ways-church-can-increase-member-engagement-app/#respond Thu, 15 Jun 2017 21:20:12 +0000 http://moreblessed.org/?p=1800 Engaged, active members are more willing to donate their time, talent, and treasure to help your church grow and reach the community with the gospel, Here’s how to use a church mobile app to help them be more engaged in the conversation at your medium-sized church. A well-developed and [...]

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Engaged, active members are more willing to donate their time, talent, and treasure to help your church grow and reach the community with the gospel, Here’s how to use a church mobile app to help them be more engaged in the conversation at your medium-sized church.

A well-developed and marketed app can be a critical tool to increase member engagement. More engaged members stay at the church longer, volunteer more often, give more, attend more church services and events, and have a deeper relationship with God. So how can having a church app at your medium sized church have that much of an impact? Here are five ways to create a church mobile app to increase member engagement.

  1. Target It

Who do you want using your church app? The features and content in your church mobile app are best built around the needs and behaviors of the people you will expect to use it.

Conventional wisdom suggests that the early adopters of your church app will be from the younger generations. They also may come from those members who may not yet be invested fully in the church, but loyal to their devices. However, the software solutions giant Adobe suggests an alternate target that is not defined solely by age, but by behaviors. These individuals make up approximately 20 percent of the general population and are further along in the mobile adoption curve than the rest of the population.

To the surprise of many churches, in their recently released 2015 Mobile Consumer Report, Adobe found that these highly active mobile users come from every age group, as follows:

  • 34 percent are 18-29 years old
  • 36 percent are 30-49 years old
  • 30 percent are 50-64 years old
  1. Define It

What does increased member engagement look like to your church? Is it based on your church donations, your weekly attendance, increases in event registrations, or something else? Perhaps it can be seen by more bible studies, more visitors, and an increase in new members who what to be part of a more active church.

How your church is unique plats a big role in how you will want to design your church mobile app and increase member engagement. Do you offer podcasts and online videos of your sermons? Then your app should include podcasts and broadcasts, whether they are live or archived. Your church app also should facilitate events and mobile donations. Does your church reach out to the community? Then your church mobile app could be a way to organize and mobilize people in your church that want to be a part of your outreach. Does your Pastor, church leaders, and members post blogs or other content for your church and others? Your church app should be an additional place where members can access this content.

  1. Separate It

The so called Mobile Elites are primarily focused on their smart phones, so resist the temptation to develop your church mobile app as simply a copy of your website. The evtra effort devoted to church app development gives your church a fighting chance for their time spent on the screen. According to a Nielsen Cross Platform report, mobile users spend the majority of smartphone time in apps: 88 percent of time spent is in apps, while only 12 percent of their time is spent browsing on the mobile web.

Your members still connect to and interact with your church in your church mobile app, and with a well-designed interface and the use of features like push notifications, you’ll keep them immersed in and connect to the fellowship of other believers longer. Anne Lewnes, senior vice president at Adobe, explains in a recent Adobe blog post that an app’s inherently immersive environment allows organizations to “engage with [people] in ways that the mobile web experience can’t.”

  1. Simplify It

With professional, personal, and technological distractions all around us, design your church app for ease of use. Keep the following tips in mind to help streamline the user interface and increase engagement:

  • Make it easy: Eliminate logins if you can in your church mobile app
  • Make it clean: Keep the interface of your church app simple to use, and avoid flashy (distractive) content and design
  • Make it short: Monitor the word count in your church mobile app content. Reading lengthy content on smartphones is tiresome. Some experts recommend five paragraphs or less per page.
  • Provide videos for in-depth content: Short videos from your church app deliver great volumes of content that would otherwise overwhelm readers in text format.
  1. Personalize It

Your members all have one thing in common: they want to be a part of your church. Beyond that, each member is different and likely expects a unique experience based on level of engagement and interests. To help increase engagement, create a church mobile app that provides features based on what you know about your members and the ones that you expect to use your church app.

Provide content that addresses different groups of members. Some content might be best for those looking to take part in your church’s outreach efforts, and other content on your church mobile app might be best for those that are still beginning their faith walk.

Don’t forget to include your leadership team in your church app personalization efforts. The goal is to increase the relationships between your leaders and members, and also among all your members. A church mobile app can be designed to ensure that many more of your members become engaged and active in the lifestyle, mission, and vision of your church.

 

MORE Blessed has an outstanding church mobile app available to churches of all sizes that will allow the integration of about any feature imaginable. Each app is custom created by our professionals at no charge to your church, and only $25 a month, which makes the mobile app affordable for every organization!

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3 Online Giving Fundаmеntаlѕ for Churсhеѕ https://moreblessed.org/3-online-d%d0%ben%d0%b0ti%d0%ben-fund%d0%b0m%d0%b5nt%d0%b0l%d1%95-chur%d1%81h%d0%b5%d1%95/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=3-online-d%25d0%25ben%25d0%25b0ti%25d0%25ben-fund%25d0%25b0m%25d0%25b5nt%25d0%25b0l%25d1%2595-chur%25d1%2581h%25d0%25b5%25d1%2595 https://moreblessed.org/3-online-d%d0%ben%d0%b0ti%d0%ben-fund%d0%b0m%d0%b5nt%d0%b0l%d1%95-chur%d1%81h%d0%b5%d1%95/#respond Thu, 08 Jun 2017 19:45:40 +0000 http://moreblessed.org/?p=1790 Millеnniаlѕ аrе making uр аn inсrеаѕing numbеr of сhurсh аttеndееѕ, and thiѕ gеnеrаtiоn doesn’t carry cash оr сhесk. Even оldеr folks are сhооѕing debit саrdѕ аnd оnlinе payments over paper рауmеntѕ. Churсhеѕ, however, ѕtrugglе tо find wауѕ tо рrосеѕѕ оnlinе dоnаtiоnѕ, giftѕ, аnd оffеringѕ that do nоt еаt intо thеir [...]

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Millеnniаlѕ аrе making uр аn inсrеаѕing numbеr of сhurсh аttеndееѕ, and thiѕ gеnеrаtiоn doesn’t carry cash оr сhесk. Even оldеr folks are сhооѕing debit саrdѕ аnd оnlinе payments over paper рауmеntѕ. Churсhеѕ, however, ѕtrugglе tо find wауѕ tо рrосеѕѕ оnlinе dоnаtiоnѕ, giftѕ, аnd оffеringѕ that do nоt еаt intо thеir bottom line.
Thеrе аrе a vаriеtу оf good reasons fоr уоur сhurсh tо consider online giving, bеуоnd thе lack оf саѕh in millennial wаllеtѕ. In аn аgе оf idеntitу thеft concerns, many people аrе rеluсtаnt to simply drор a check with their finаnсiаl infоrmаtiоn аnуwhеrе that doesn’t include a lосk, kеу, аnd ѕесuritу guаrdѕ. In addition, рrосеѕѕing саѕh аnd сhесk payments requires timе аnd careful ассоunting.

There iѕ a rеаѕоn реорlе have mоvеd to digitаl рауmеntѕ wherever роѕѕiblе: it is easier аnd mоrе secure. Sо how саn a сhurсh mаkе online giving a possibility in thеir own соngrеgаtiоnѕ?

1) Fee Struсturеѕ fоr Onlinе Dоnаtiоnѕ

One thing thаt scares mаnу сhurсhеѕ аwау from оnlinе giving is thе prospect оf fees. Banks charge fees for anyone to process a payment, and almost every for-profit cоmраny that handles processing for churches include a significant markup. Many then add a mоnthlу or annual fee. Of course, churches want to use dоnаtiоnѕ fоr ministry rather thаn making a processing company riсhеr. However, thеrе is an орtiоn thаt is аffоrdаblе and increases donations more than any other.

2) Benefits оf Entеring thе Digitаl Agе

The main rеаѕоn tо аѕѕumе thе cost оf online giving is that your church cannot lost the extra revenues that come from online donations. It tаkеѕ time to рrосеѕѕ аnd ѕоrt cash аnd check dоnаtiоnѕ. Whilе ѕоmе сhurсhеѕ tightlу соntrоl the process, ѕоmе have ways of hаndling оffеringѕ thаt lеаvе them open tо scandal. A check lеft оn a dеѕk соuld cause a member’s idеntitу to be ѕtоlеn. In аdditiоn, сhurсhеѕ are nоt immunе tо еmbеzzling аnd оthеr scandals. However, the most imроrtаnt fасtоr tо rеmеmbеr is that оnlinе giving usually соmеѕ with a ѕtеер jumр in donations. Thеѕе are many times greater than the fееѕ that come with processing online donations.

Hоw many of уоur members givе a tеn реrсеnt tithе еvеrу month? Whether your church preaches on tithing or not, many сhurсhеѕ аdорting online giving аllоw реорlе tо make individuаl dоnаtiоnѕ оr tо give a ѕеt аmоunt tаkеn аt rеgulаr intervals (“recurring giving”). Thiѕ makes it еаѕiеr fоr реорlе tо follow the scriptural principal on tithing or generosity. When a church member sets up a weekly or monthly giving schedule, instead of having to take action in order to give, and catch up when they miss or are out of town, they have to take action in order to stop giving. In addition, mоѕt of uѕ have been in thе еmbаrrаѕѕing ѕituаtiоn whеrе уоu rеасh into your pocket аѕ thе оffеring bаѕkеt approaches аnd find оnlу a five dollar bill. Mоdеrn people simply dоn’t carry a lоt оf cash аnd mау nоt bе giving аѕ muсh аѕ thеу purpose in their hearts to do.

3) Oрtiоnѕ for Onlinе Dоnаtiоnѕ

There are probably mоrе online giving рrоgrаmѕ for сhurсhеѕ аnd nоnрrоfitѕ than саn bе listed, but thеѕе are a fеw favorites:

PауPаl is a popular wеbѕitе fоr transferring mоnеу, uѕеd by a vаriеtу оf lаrgе corporations. It tends to appear more commercial and is a little cumbersome for folks that want to give on a recurring schedule, but many people are familiar with the service. It сhаrgеѕ 2.5-3.5% оf each dоnаtiоn, even ACH transactions.

Pushpay оffеrѕ mоbilе аnd online giving рауmеntѕ. First-time giving takes a little longer than it needs to, but they focus on giving through mobile apps, where givers that have downloaded and setup the Pushpay mobile app can quickly make new donations. Their pricing tends to be higher, and price increases are common.

MORE Blessed оffеrѕ custom online giving pages that perfectly match each church’s website, has some sophisticated security features, and their giving pages are the fastest way for first-time donors to give. They also offer the lowest costs by a lot – 2% for all cards (including Amex) and 0.3% for ACH.

Lastly, it’s important to take into consideration the online giving company that your church chooses to work with. While some companies have your church’s best intentions at heart and seek to serve, other companies are looking to profit from the church, and do not offer good support and service. It’s always wise to ask other churches what they use and what their experiences are.

In a wоrld whеrе almost еvеrу item оr ѕеrviсе саn bе bоught with a single tар frоm уоur lарtор оr smartphone, churches nееd to accept donations with the same methods people have available. Mаking it easy аnd rоutinе fоr реорlе to give gеnеrоuѕlу will increase уоur dоnаtiоnѕ, while rеduсing thе time spent in processing саѕh dоnаtiоnѕ.

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5 Common Misconceptions About Church Tech https://moreblessed.org/5-mi%d1%95%d1%81%d0%ben%d1%81%d0%b5%d1%80ti%d0%ben%d1%95-chur%d1%81h-t%d0%b5%d1%81h/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=5-mi%25d1%2595%25d1%2581%25d0%25ben%25d1%2581%25d0%25b5%25d1%2580ti%25d0%25ben%25d1%2595-chur%25d1%2581h-t%25d0%25b5%25d1%2581h https://moreblessed.org/5-mi%d1%95%d1%81%d0%ben%d1%81%d0%b5%d1%80ti%d0%ben%d1%95-chur%d1%81h-t%d0%b5%d1%81h/#respond Thu, 01 Jun 2017 14:55:15 +0000 http://moreblessed.org/?p=1773 What is Church Tech? Church tech can be defined as the use of methods, processes or knowledge to further the goals and mission of the church. Below are the misconceptions many church leaders have about church tech:   1.“The church does not use Technology.” One of the greatest uses [...]

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What is Church Tech?

Church tech can be defined as the use of methods, processes or knowledge to further the goals and mission of the church.

Below are the misconceptions many church leaders have about church tech:

 

1.“The church does not use Technology.”

One of the greatest uses of technology was the application of the printing press to mass produce copies of the Holy Bible. Johannes Gutenberg, who was considered the inventor of the printing press, used technology to mass produce books and quickly spread knowledge in the 15th century Europe. The Gutenburg Bible is an early use of church tech to spread the gospel. Today, churches tech is used to assist with worship, sermons are delivered with church tech like powerpoints and broadcast online, most visitors find a church through a website or social media site, and people that give to church online consistently give more.

  1. “Older congregants will not embrace technology”

This is a commonly held belief based largely on basic assumptions about church tech and older members. Not only is this not true, but a study by Dunham and Company showed that online giving among those over 65 was equal to members from younger generations. Senior Americans have traditionally been late adopters of technology. But according to the Pew Research Center, seniors are embracing technology at a surprising rate. In 2013, 59% were internet users.

  1. “Technology is a problem, not a solution.”

Technology itself is not bad, but it also is not foolproof. It’s all in how it is applied. The problem comes when church tech becomes a substitute for human interaction. People and churches require a physical connection and human interaction for survival. Church tech should encourage and enhance, but not replace, the human part of the church experience.

  1. “It doesn’t cost anything.”

Because of open source technology, an increasing number of tools and apps are available free or at a very low cost. While the value can be high, this does not mean that there is not cost involved. It can take labor and testing involved with applying any new technology, along with support and updates.

  1. “All technologies are created equal.”

Just because you pay more for something doesn’t guarantee it will be better. In the church tech industry, it’s often exactly the opposite.

Price does not always indicate worth. Custom church websites that typically cost $3,500 can be bested by ones that are less than one-fourth the cost. Church mobile apps that cost $400 to design and $50 – $100 per month to maintain can be found for just $25 a month – and these apps are faster to create and easier to maintain and update. Church online giving can be custom-designed to perfectly match your church website, but only by one provider, MORE Blessed.

MORE Blessed is a ministry founded by a Pastor and businessman, run by technology industry veterans, and provides better and more secure technology at half the cost of anyone else. Their only goal is to increase your church’s ability to use technology and grow the Kingdom. With MORE Blessed, you can overcome the five common misconceptions about church tech. MORE Blessed offers custom designed church online giving pages, church apps, and church websites.

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Increase Your Impact with Church Online Giving https://moreblessed.org/increase-your-impact-with-church-online-giving/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=increase-your-impact-with-church-online-giving https://moreblessed.org/increase-your-impact-with-church-online-giving/#respond Wed, 07 Dec 2016 12:47:28 +0000 http://moreblessed.org/?p=1018 People no longer keep a huge sum of cash or checks with them. Smart cards and ACH transactions have taken their place. People make most of their transactions this way. They are easier to carry and are lower risk than cash or checks. Because of this, offering the option of [...]

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People no longer keep a huge sum of cash or checks with them. Smart cards and ACH transactions have taken their place. People make most of their transactions this way. They are easier to carry and are lower risk than cash or checks. Because of this, offering the option of online donations for churches will be a great help for the giver who wants to donate using the method that is available to them. Not offering online giving in the 21st century is like not accepting checks in the 20th century.

Let us have a look at some of the benefits of church online giving:

No off Days:

You don’t have to wait to donate or send your gifts to the church. As soon as you are ready to make a commitment to give, you can through your church online giving page.  Online donations can happen anytime and anywhere. Whether it is during national holidays or events or the end of the year for last-minute tax deductible contributions, online services are always available. That makes it easier for both the giver and the church or ministry.

Gain More Visibility:

Social media has become a part of everyone’s life. According to a survey, almost 73% of the population of the US had an account on social media networks in 2015. Online giving systems can help your church gain more visibility and make the public aware of its mission. Through social media accounts, you can direct your Instagram, Twitter or Facebook followers to your church online giving page.

Increase in Receivings:

There is approximately a 10-30% increase in donations to those churches who have implemented a church online giving page. This is because people find it much easier to make donations online rather than using checks and cash.

Eliminating the differences:

There is a lower chance of people making donations to your church when they are sick or out of town. Church online giving systems have eliminated the gap between the giver and their church. People from miles away can send the gifts online without having to be there physically.

Easy Management:

Records are automatically maintained through online giving systems. Managing records manually take a lot of time and effort which can be reduced when a church accepts donations through a church online giving page. Your data is conveniently accessible, too. You will not have to dig through files in a store room to extract data about any giver from the past.

Advance Mode of Communications:

Church online giving pages can also serve as a mode of communication to your church member. When the church wants to communicate new programs or funds, like when a building fund program is needed, members can make their donation immediately through the church’s online giving system.

Church online giving systems increase donations, reduce the administrative burden, and help donors give anytime, anywhere, and more regularly. MORE Blessed is a non-profit organization that offers online giving pages to churches and other religious organizations. More than 25% of churches already offer online giving to their members. Only MORE Blessed offers custom online giving pages at half the cost, and no one is more secure, provides the same level of customer service, or has a vision of doubling global missions through technology. Join the MORE Blessed vision, and make things easier for you and your givers.

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Leverage Pinterest to Connect to Your Online Donors https://moreblessed.org/leverage-pinterest-to-connect-to-your-online-donors/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=leverage-pinterest-to-connect-to-your-online-donors https://moreblessed.org/leverage-pinterest-to-connect-to-your-online-donors/#respond Thu, 04 Feb 2016 21:09:21 +0000 http://moreblessed.org/?p=453 Think what you would do if you all had access to the biggest bulletin board in the world. It is a platform where you may be able to exchange ideas and pictures across the world. Why not get this type of capability from a popular social networking site called Pinterest? [...]

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Think what you would do if you all had access to the biggest bulletin board in the world. It is a platform where you may be able to exchange ideas and pictures across the world. Why not get this type of capability from a popular social networking site called Pinterest? And for churches too, this social networking site offers a lot of opportunities to explore.

Unlike other social networking websites like Facebook or Twitter that are mostly driven by words, this social networking site is primarily driven by wonderful visuals. Like a huge bulletin board, you can ‘pin’ your favorite ideas and images. Your church can use images and captions to share its mission, increase online giving by potential donors, and spread the Gospel message.

Here are a few ways your church can use Pinterest to increase its online donations:

Wish to boost the donors for your church’s next fundraising event? Use this social platform to offer visual reminders. Use Pinterest in order to ‘pin’ a blog entry and any other post associated with the event.

Spread your message by recommending vital resources to the donors. Pinterest is often used by Pastors and church members to share books, music, websites, and other resources for their donors. You can also create boards for groups of your members like men, women, small group members, youth, and more.

Inspire the congregation with special boards that highlight inspiring quotes, images, and other things tied to your sermon series or weekly message. You can use these boards to share the mission and vision of your church on a regular basis. Doing this on a regular basis can motivate people to donate on a more regular basis.

Having problems staying in touch with your members when they are traveling or sick? Create special boards that allow them to update about how your message and visuals relate to them. They will appreciate the extra opportunity to fellowship.

Share stories and share the message of God

Has your church organized a campaign to motivate your members to give online? Share examples from your community. Did your church just complete an outreach project or volunteer day? Did the youth group return from its missions trip? Has your church developed a vibrant network of small groups? Champion the stories of what God is doing in your community by sharing photos through Pinterest.

Develop fresh themes for church events. Churches are using Pinterest to develop new themes and decoration ideas for events and activities from church retreats to VBS. Search under “DIY” and “craft” to create a board for Sunday school activities. One church outside of Denver, Colorado, is using Pinterest to design its volunteer appreciation dinner as a luau-themed barbecue.

Along with these capabilities, gone are the days when your members abandoned their donations. With the single giving page offered through MORE Blessed, what you call the donation ‘close rate’ will go up significantly. Our one page will help reduce the number of members that abandon their donations because they have to click through too many pages. Contributors who wish to donate from their mobile phone face even more challenges when they have to click through multiple pages. Tie your optimized giving page to your social media presence though sites like Pinterest, and watch your donations climb!

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Hassle Free Online Giving for Churches https://moreblessed.org/hassle-free-online-giving-for-churches/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hassle-free-online-giving-for-churches https://moreblessed.org/hassle-free-online-giving-for-churches/#respond Wed, 13 Jan 2016 21:05:42 +0000 http://moreblessed.org/?p=451 In spite of rapid advances in technology specifically designed for churches, church leaders still find it difficult to encourage online donations. They often think that their members only want to use cash or checks and are reluctant to use new technology. However, it has been revealed by independent experts that [...]

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In spite of rapid advances in technology specifically designed for churches, church leaders still find it difficult to encourage online donations. They often think that their members only want to use cash or checks and are reluctant to use new technology. However, it has been revealed by independent experts that those who donate online find the option convenient and effective. They give more often, and more consistently. Plus, the simpler and faster your donation process online, the more online and total donations you will receive. It is vital to encourage your members to adopt this new giving process. Here are a few tips that you should follow to make your online giving process easy.

Add value

Make your home page appealing to the donors. It is the place where you actually introduce yourself and your church. Clarify your vision and the outreach programs you have designed, both on your homepage, and on your website generally. And remember, the most effective online donations come from churches who have their giving link prominently displayed on their homepage.

Use buttons that are easy to recognize

Create a donation button that would be recognizable from other important links on the home page. It is best to place a donation button on the top of your home page and on your other pages as well. Do not forget to highlight it with a different color, and a “Give” button with a border will make it stand out from other links. Whenever the donors come to the page to contribute, make sure that they are able to find the button quickly on every page of your website.

Make the donation process simple

Getting members and first-time donors to click your donation button is just winning half the battle. Whether your giving page looks like it is sponsored by you and how easily they can complete their donation will make a huge difference. Make sure that you do not complicate things.  The lesser the pages and clicks a person has to make in order to give, the more likely they will be to complete their donation. With the proper online giving system, members will be guided to consider a recurring donation, and invited to give an immediate donation, all on one webpage. If your members and donors find it easy to donate, they will come back in the future and be more likely to give however and whenever the Spirit moves them to support your church.

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Leverage Facebook to Increase Members and Church Donations https://moreblessed.org/leverage-facebook-to-increase-members-and-church-donations/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=leverage-facebook-to-increase-members-and-church-donations https://moreblessed.org/leverage-facebook-to-increase-members-and-church-donations/#respond Mon, 11 Jan 2016 21:03:17 +0000 http://moreblessed.org/?p=445 To motivate new donors for your church, ask them to join the Facebook page of your church. Once you develop that connection, you will be able to spread the message of God and encourage them to contribute to the generous work being done by your church. Here are two quick [...]

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To motivate new donors for your church, ask them to join the Facebook page of your church. Once you develop that connection, you will be able to spread the message of God and encourage them to contribute to the generous work being done by your church. Here are two quick but vital tips that you should follow in using Facebook to grow your church and promote online donations.

Reach out to donors personally

Make sure that the link to the Facebook page of your church is visible on your church website, as well as in other official emails that are used by the church administration. Do you know that Facebook itself offers multiple tools to integrate the Facebook page of your church within its website? There is another way to connect to your potential donors personally.  You can invite them to join an appropriate Facebook group that is administered by the church. From Bible study groups to young adult groups, you have many options. It can be anything that appeals to them and motivates them to get involved with your church.

Keep them engaged for a long period of time

Attracting new users of your Facebook page is not adequate. If you wish to appeal to them and get involved at a deeper level, you should continue producing interesting content for your Facebook page regularly. For example, you can import interesting posts from a blog of your church website, post special events, current news and other announcements associated with the church, and share videos and images from current church events.

Make sure that your Facebook page is updated regularly, and publish content that can be easily shareable. Don’t stop interacting with people who visit your page regularly, and encourage them to donate and fulfill God’s will of serving your community and the world through your church.

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Boost Online Donations with the Help of Social Media https://moreblessed.org/boost-online-donations-with-the-help-of-social-media/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=boost-online-donations-with-the-help-of-social-media https://moreblessed.org/boost-online-donations-with-the-help-of-social-media/#respond Tue, 29 Dec 2015 11:39:22 +0000 http://moreblessed.org/?p=227 Promoting awareness about online giving on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest is easy and can quickly make a big difference, especially at the end of the year. Online donations are no longer a fad. Churches all over the world benefit from accepting donations online, and have [...]

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Promoting awareness about online giving on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest is easy and can quickly make a big difference, especially at the end of the year.

Online donations are no longer a fad. Churches all over the world benefit from accepting donations online, and have found it’s the best way to meet the church budget and improve both generosity and stewardship among church members. Do you want to engage your members and make them aware of how quick and easy it is to make a one-time or recurring donation online? Why don’t you start a social media campaign for this? Social media marketing techniques help you reach all your members quickly in a way they are likely to see, and will help grow your online donations by leaps and bounds.

“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”

Tweet and give updates!

Make sure that you post an image with one link to the donation page of your organization. Whenever people donate, you should Tweet and post immediately with how that is making an impact through the work of your church. Let your donors feel how they are creating a difference.

Develop social media campaigns between Christmas and New Year

Run interesting and relevant campaigns on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook during this holiday season from Christmas until the New Year celebration. People give far more during this last week of the year than at any other time!

Post regularly to build excitement about the opportunity to give

How often do you use social media for this purpose? Many of the most successful organizations post once a day through social media sites, especially at the end of the year.  This helps you to reach out to your existing members and potential followers, and can build your own community of advocates and influencers who take your message outside the four walls of the church.

Social media is not a waste of time.  Many churches and ministries have used
it to increase their funds and best carry out the Great Commission. By using social media marketing techniques, your organization can create awareness about online donations and grow your church’s impact for Christ in the best possible way.

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