What Research Shows About How to Increase Church Giving

It’s a familiar moment in many churches. The pastor invites the congregation to give, someone feels that nudge to be generous, reaches for their phone… and then stops.

The giving form needs a login. The tithing app isn’t installed. The worship team has already moved on to the next song. By the time they’ve tried to sort it out, the moment has passed, and once the rhythm of the service carries people forward, very few come back to complete a gift later.

For most church leaders, the instinct is to think generosity is the challenge; maybe people just don’t want to give? But more often than not, it’s not willingness that’s lacking. It’s the small roadblocks that stand between intention and action.

The surprising truth is that the biggest obstacle to church giving isn’t people’s generosity. It’s friction. The more inadvertent steps we put between someone’s nudge to give and the actual giving itself, the fewer gifts are completed. Remove the barriers, and giving rises almost immediately.

In this blog, we’ll look at why people hesitate to give in church, how friction quietly reduces generosity, and the most surprising way your church can increase giving right now.

Why Do People Hesitate to Give in Church?

Most church leaders know the tension well: You give time to teaching on biblical stewardship, you remind the congregation about the church’s mission, and you pass the offering plate or provide instructions for online giving. Yet, when the weekly offering is counted, the results often feel underwhelming.

It’s not always a lack of generosity. Many church members want to support God’s work, they sense the importance of tithing, and they even start the donation process. But at the exact moment they feel moved to give, small obstacles get in the way.

The research supports this hypothesis. Unfortunately, 50–70% of online donation attempts end before completion, meaning most people who begin a gift never finish it. And the problem isn't unique to churches. In the broader nonprofit space, up to 84% of visitors who land on a donation page don’t complete their gift and the reason is simple: friction.

The Hidden Cost of Friction in Church Giving

Friction is any barrier that makes giving harder than it needs to be. Even small things, like requiring too many fields on a form or making church members choose between five different donation options, reduce conversions.

In fact, the numbers are sobering: 92% of mobile visitors leave donation pages without donating, and the average nonprofit page has just a 16% completion rate. Globally, 70% of digital shopping carts are abandoned before checkout, showing this isn’t only a church issue but a universal truth about digital behavior.

If people don’t complete their online giving, the impact on church finances is significant. Many churches depend on recurring donations and weekly offering income to pay church staff, run church events, and support ministries like small groups or outreach. When friction causes fewer people to give, the church’s mission is slowed.

What the Data Tells Us About Increasing Giving

The impact becomes even clearer when we look at the data. The good news is that when barriers are removed, giving rises quickly.

Studies show that:

• Making an address field optional prevents a 3–4% drop in mobile conversions.
• Embedded donation forms deliver a 29% higher revenue per visitor.
• Reducing donation options from five to three increases the number of donors.

In other words, the simpler the process, the more likely people are to complete their gift.

This is especially true for first-time givers. Research shows that only 23% of first-time donors are retained, compared with 60% of repeat donors. That means most first-time givers never come back — unless their first experience is easy and meaningful.

First-time givers are also testing more than the system. They’re testing the church’s approach to financial transparency and stewardship. When the process is easy, respectful, and quick, it signals that the church values both generosity and people’s time.

For many Christians, giving is a spiritual discipline tied to faith, not a spur-of-the-moment decision. But when the moment of generosity is met with a clunky form or confusing options, it interrupts both the practical process and the spiritual growth that comes with consistent giving.

The Most Surprising Way to Increase Church Giving: Remove Every Barrier

Here’s the insight that most church leaders miss: Generosity itself is not the problem. The problem is the unnecessary steps that prevent church members from following through in the moment.

Think about how most people pay in daily life. They tap a card at the grocery store. They approve a mobile payment with Face ID. They order coffee with a single click. In the same way, churches can make giving easy and immediate.

This matters for spiritual as well as practical reasons. Giving isn’t only about money; it’s about helping people take a step of faith. If someone feels prompted to honor God with ten percent of their income, the church should make that decision as simple as possible. Every barrier removed is another opportunity to encourage people to practice biblical stewardship.

How ExpressGive Captures Generosity in the Moment

ExpressGive is Overflow’s answer to this challenge. Instead of logging into an app or filling out a long donation form, a person simply taps their phone on an NFC disc strategically placed in the sanctuary.

Here’s how it works:

1. During church services, NFC discs are placed on seat backs, offering stations, or high-traffic areas.
2. A church member or visitor taps their phone to the disc.
3. A secure giving screen opens instantly, already connected to Apple Pay or Google Pay.
4. The person chooses an amount and confirms with Face ID or a fingerprint.
5. The gift is complete in less than five seconds.

No apps. No logins. No forms. No missed moments during the service. ExpressGive makes it easy to increase church tithing while stripping back those moments of friction that stop people giving.

This approach makes giving as fast as dropping cash into the offering plate, but with the added benefits of digital giving, like immediate receipts, recurring payments, and tracking for consistent giving.

Putting It Into Practice in Your Church

For pastors and church staff, adopting new tools can feel daunting. But ExpressGive is designed to run alongside existing church giving platforms. It doesn’t replace text to give, recurring giving, or online portals; it simply adds another option that removes friction in the moment.

Implementation is simple:

• Place NFC discs where people naturally interact, like on seat backs, lobby tables, or near the doors.
• Configure each disc to route gifts to the correct church offering fund.
• Invite people to try it out during one Sunday service as a pilot.
• Share stories of those who found it helpful, encouraging members to see giving as part of their spiritual discipline.

Most churches will find that when giving is easier, overall donations rise. Even fewer people carrying cash is no longer a barrier, because generosity is captured in real time.

Building a Culture of Generosity

Of course, tools alone aren’t the full answer. Church leaders still need to talk about faith, discipleship, and why giving matters. Pastors can use moments in church services to remind the congregation that generosity is one way to honor God and support the church’s mission.

Encouraging consistent giving is about more than raising money. It truly is about spiritual growth. When church members see regular donations not as a financial transaction but as part of God’s work, giving becomes joyful and purposeful.

Encourage people to set up a recurring gift, tied to their weekly income or monthly budget. Celebrate examples of generosity within small groups. Invite people to see tithing as a practice that supports both spiritual discipline and the practical needs of the church.

By combining teaching with tools like ExpressGive, many churches, from smaller churches to large congregations, can build a lasting culture of generosity that fuels ministry.

Try the Easiest and Fastest Way to Give in Church

Most churches don’t struggle with a lack of willing hearts. They struggle with friction. The data makes it clear: the more complicated the donation process, the fewer people complete their gifts.

The most surprising way to increase church giving is not more appeals or new campaigns. It’s removing every barrier between intention and action.

With ExpressGive, giving can be completed in under five seconds. That's as fast as a tap for coffee, but with eternal significance. By making generosity easy, churches can encourage members to honor God, grow in faith, and support the church’s mission with consistent giving.

If you’d like to see how ExpressGive works in practice, book a demo today and discover how easy it can be to capture generosity in the moment.