ATM in your church lobby?
 

This weeks Time Magazine has an article about ATM's in churches.

It is not so far fetched of an idea. You have to have receipts for most donations beginning in 2007, and some church giving increased 18%.

Would you use an ATM at church?

Click here for the full story.

Why not? Most people don't carry cash anymore. It's also an extra stream of income if the the ATM adds a fee for disbursement.

It should be placed discreetly, however.

Church of Champions/Bro. Hutchins can offer you experiential insight. They have been doing this for a while now and have seen a similar increase in giving. They also can point you to some folks that will assist you in getting this set up!

Why not? It would save us the gas from going to the bank on Friday or Saturday to get cash from the ATM for offerings. I hate putting checks in the offering plate. God is the only one who needs a record of my giving. I don't have to keep a receipt. ;)

My husband would LOVE that...he's into online banking and automating everything, and quite frankly, our tithes would probably be less likely to be late if it was set up to automatically go to the church, or if he could just swipe his card.

Me...I'm not so sure...I guess the convenience factor is great, BUT...I think there's something to be said for bringing money in hand and giving it to the church. I wouldn't want my kids to donate money they've never really "seen"....it seems a bit impersonal. I also think it makes the church look a bit like money grubbers...wouldn't it make a bad impression on visitors to walk into the church and see an ATM machine? The secular world already suspects the church of scamming people out of their money about half the time. I think its better for them to see giving in the offering in the old-fashioned, traditional way as an act of worship, as part of the service.

I can see how it could increase giving, though.

how about a link to "online giving"..in case you missed a recent opportunity to give...

I saw this recently on a church website, their HOME PAGE to be exact, and was seriously turned off.

My thought was withdrawing the money from the ATM to give in the offering, in which case you would be "seeing, holding, giving" the offering.

I wouldn't be opposed to the ATM at church but I think it would be tacky to be in the foyer in plain view - maybe it could be tucked away in a more non-conspicuous area.

Ok, Did anyone read the article?

We have MissB loving this and Theresa hating it....

Okay. I read it just for you. So 'splain something for me. I just automatically assumed regular ATM (withdrawals) functions. But the way I read this, I am thinking a kiosk for transfers to church account only.....Is this a correct interpretation?

Do we? I don't think that's what I said. :coffee2