If you’re a child of the 80’s like me, you’ll probably remember the popular infomercials for the RoncoTM rotisserie ovens. The host and inventor of the oven, Ron Popeil, had a catch phrase that became so popular it transcended both infomercial-land and the RoncoTM oven.
Do you remember it? Say it with me!
That’s right. These ovens were so easy to use, you could just put the raw chickens in the oven, close the glass front, and “Set it and forget it”, as Ron and the audience would say. Your chicken would come out juicy and cooked to perfection. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
A lot of digital giving solutions for churches offer a recurring giving feature that works kinda like Ron’s ovens. You enter the amount you’d like to give, specify the frequency of the gift, and “Set it and forget it”.
Don’t get me wrong. Recurring giving is a good thing for a several reasons:
- It creates more fiscal consistency for the church, and makes budget planning easier.
- The person giving can’t forget to do it.
- It’s a gesture to show God that we trust Him with our finances.
But the RoncoTM “Set it and forget it” version of recurring giving has an inherent flaw. It allows you to forget about it.
Giving is an act of worship. It’s a way to recognize the blessings God has given us, and to give part of it back. Why then do most giving solutions put your gift to the church on autopay, like you’re paying the utility bill or something?
We thought long and hard when it came time to build a recurring giving feature into Txt2Give. We didn’t want it to feel like paying a bill. We wanted people to be present as much as possible when it was time for the recurring gift to happen.
With Txt2Give’s recurring giving feature, you can participate and be present in the act of worship each and every time. For each recurrence, you’ll be prompted by text message to simply confirm the gift, allowing you to give thanks to God right then and there. You even get the opportunity increase the amount!
You get all the benefits of automating the gift, while remaining present each time it happens. It’s the best of both worlds, really.
Let’s leave the “Set it and forget it” mentality for paying the phone bill or mortgage. Let Txt2Give help create consistency in your congregation’s giving without sacrificing awareness and sense of purpose.
