Revolutionary way to church offering...

AT this church, worshippers do not have to wait for the offering bags to be passed around to present their offerings.Instead, they just have to step up to one of three giving kiosks in the lobby of the Stevens Creek Community Church Georgia in the US reported the Los Angeles Times.

The kiosks are sleek black pedestals topped with a computer screen, numeric keypads and magnetic-strip readers. Yes, the kiosks are automated teller machines. Churchgoer Josh Marshall steps up to one of the kiosks, pulls out a bank card and punches in some numbers. Out pops a receipt, and Mr Marshall's US$400 ($635) donation to the church is processed. He said: 'I paid for (petrol) today with a card, and got lunch with one.This is really no different.'

NO CASH IN WALLETS

Pastor Marty Baker came up with the kiosk idea a couple of years ago. The church had just launched a US$3-million building drive, and the pastor noticed that few people carried cash in their wallets for the church offering. That was when he began studying electronic payments. He designed his machine with the help of a computer programmer who attends the same church and found ATM companies willing to assemble it for him.

Early last year, the first machine appeared in the church. Since then, kiosk giving has gradually gained acceptance among the members. The three kiosks are expected to take in between US$200,000 and US$240,000 this year - about 15 per cent of the church's total donations. Pastor Baker said: 'It's truly like an ATM for Jesus.'

And now Pastor Baker and his wife are selling the kiosks to other churches through their for-profit company, SecureGive. The kiosks can let donors designate their gift as a regular tithe or offering, or direct it to building or missionary funds. The machines then send information about the donation to a central church computer system, which can send donors an e-mail confirmation.

And the Bakers have another idea: Donation machines attached to the backs of pews.

Hmmmm... interesting but nothing new in my church... ;P