While most church leaders are embracing online giving as a valuable tool for growing and supporting the church during the pandemic, the truth is that online giving is part of a larger process toward driving donations in the years ahead. Research sources such as Gallup and the Pew Research Center indicate that “life in religious congregations is showing signs of slowly returning to normal.” Given the latest economic reports of inflation rates at a 13-year high, can you truly define what normal will look like in the years ahead?

Church pastors and leaders worked hard to transform in-person services and sermons into virtual events overnight during the pandemic. If your team can manage that transition, you can take it a step further and use technology to develop passionate and diverse funding sources.

Church leaders who are good at driving donations to sustain and grow congregations are connected to their members and guests. They invest in pastor coaching and donor development courses. Simply knowing about the church budget or church finances is no longer enough; you need an effective communication strategy that is built on solid data and has been proven to work in a digital world. There are seven different types of donors, and your strategy and message need to reach all of them. Successful ministry leaders use a strategy that maps the donor experience to speak to all donor types and draws attention to the ease of online giving to facilitate regular, recurring donation income.

Do you or your lead pastor find it difficult to focus on donor development or a donor playbook? Do you feel uncomfortable talking about money during online or in-person services? There are two important questions to consider before you or your leadership team put donations or fundraising on the back burner right now:

1. Can the church grow without donations?

2. Can the church maintain obligations to the congregation and the community if donations begin to decline?

If you answered “no” to both of these questions, you’re not alone. Even if your donations grew during the pandemic, there’s no guarantee the growth will continue. As more and more churches compete for congregants and donors, the need for donations will increase as costs rise, the church grows, and the community it supports expands. DonorWerx can prepare your church leaders and pastors for their most important work with courses, templates, and resource materials to help you sustain and increase your ministry. Get started

If you’re the pastor of a large congregation or a church with multiple locations, your leadership team will help you create a culture of connection within your ministry. Communicating effectively about giving and growing is critical to connecting with your leadership team and your congregation members. If you’re the pastor or leader of a church with 100 people or less, you’ll need an extra boost of confidence as congregation size will ebb and flow.

The DonorWerx Framework rests on communication skills, and it will assist you in understanding your donors in a way that helps you communicate effectively. Every church has a vision, but not everyone has measurable goals tied to that vision and a high-level strategy. If you consider the seven components of donor mapping as a critical part of developing your leaders, you’ll experience a level of engagement and confidence that you’ve never felt before.

No matter the size of the church or goals for the future, churches that succeed have leaders who can engage their audience and are empowered by the results. You can’t improve the giving health of your church without understanding donors. Benchmarks and performance indicators are necessary for identifying what works and what doesn’t. Get started and learn how to incorporate technology to develop meaningful relationships with your congregation without focusing directly on the topic of giving.

As a church leader or pastor, you don’t have to worry about teaching your congregation how to use technology. They’re already using it: they connect with friends, foster hobbies, read the Bible online, and pay bills—all online. Change can be hard, especially if you have members who are opposed to technology changes. Adding an online giving platform to encourage donor engagement requires buy-in from all church leaders. They’re not wrong to be skeptical; the journey to improving the donor experience is a long one, but it’s worth it. DonorWerx provides you with an automated way of monitoring and optimizing your entire process from the beginning, with a proven framework for long-term success.

Through DonorWerx, pastors and church leaders will receive practical help for improving communication and messaging as it relates to the church vision, goals, and donor perspectives. Every type of donor will receive a message that’s designed for them and draws attention to online giving options without awkwardness or salesmanship. DonorWerx helps church leaders put faith into action and effectively demonstrate the lesson to the congregation. Knowing the “why” behind financial decisions helps you better communicate the need for giving, especially if there’s an urgency.

If you’d like to use technology responsibly without becoming distracted by gadgets or social media interruptions, try DonorWerx. Get started to schedule a free consultation to help your congregation make an even bigger impact with online giving and technology to help you meet them where they are.