Worship & Preaching  > Offering Pros and Cons

The Offering - To pass the Bag  - or not?

Offertory collections developed in the days when people were paid weekly in notes and coins. These days most people’s income comes through bank accounts, including pensions and social security benefits.

It is generally far easier to give by bank standing order, as it saves finding the right change each week. It also helps people gradually to increase their regular giving from year to year in line with inflation, without everyone having to find odd amounts of cash every week. Switching to standing orders:

• improves the regularity and consistency of church income
• cuts the time opening and checking the envelopes after the service
• minimises the risks involved in weekly cash banking
• cuts stationery costs —- dated envelope sets are fairly expensive
• helps the church to budget and manage its finances more effectively, and
• bank statements provide an independent audit trail for the Inland Revenue

Passing the offertory bag during the service

Benefits

• Everyone involved physically in liturgical action
• Visible symbol of gratitude to God
• Better described as "receiving an offering" rather than "taking an collection"

Drawbacks

• Can be intimidating or coercive for visitors
• Some people finds it interrupts their worship or singing
• Need to organise a rota of sidespeople collectors
• Bank standing order givers embarrassed at passing the bag

Having a plate at the back

Benefits

• Less obtrusive within worship liturgy
• No need to organise sidespeople or collectors

Drawbacks

• Visitors can miss the plate on the way in, or wonder why it appears
• Regular attenders (eg choir) may use other entrances
• Security risk if plate is unattended
• Reduces the importance of money as a key part of personal discipleship

Whatever system your church uses, think carefully about the drawbacks, particularly from the perspective of a visitor or newcomer. Try and devise suitable ways of dealing with these problems. For example, the embarrassment that standing order donors might feel at passing the plate could be overcome by the use of (recyclable) “My gift to God” tokens.

It is generally useful to have a regular section in the notice sheet for visitors and newcomers on the following lines: