Intacct Church Survey
Church Size and Technology
Driving Engagement and Giving
Table of Contents
Section 1: Key Findings ........................................................................................... 3
Section 2: Executive Summary ................................................................................ 5
Church Technology Today....................................................................................................... 5
Engagement with Constituents ................................................................................................ 7
Online Giving ........................................................................................................................... 8
Mobility ................................................................................................................................... 9
Church Technology Needs ..................................................................................................... 10
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Technology is changing the way we all work, educate, travel, and play. From apps that manage our home
security to apps for online giving at churches, technology is impacting what we do and how efficiently we
do it. Churches have typically not been early technology adopters, but with the tremendous efficiency,
automation and mobility needs of growing congregations, churches are leveraging technology to sustain
growth and increase stewardship. A recent Intacct survey focused on how churches are utilizing
technology. Over 1000 churches across the US responded, providing insights to how the 21 st century
church is engaging with technology.
Churchgoers have been shifting in recent years from small congregations to congregations that are midsize and larger as well. Megachurches, defined as those with weekly attendance greater than 2,000, have
increased in number by 250% since 1997. For this survey, large churches are defined as >1000 weekly
attendance and small-medium churches are defined as < 1000 weekly attendance.
Section 1: Key Findings
Churches that use cloud technology have much more engaged constituents and benefit from increased
giving. Congregations utilizing cloud technology are significantly more engaged, than those which don’t.
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Churches using cloud technology, regardless of size, were significantly more likely to utilize online giving:
Churches using cloud technology, regardless of size, were more likely to experience increases in Tithes
and Offerings:
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Both utilization of cloud technology and church size have a direct correlation to engagement and giving.
Survey participants by size and utilization of cloud technology:
Section 2: Executive Summary
Church Technology Today
The use of various technology resources is a constantly changing dynamic in the church and nonprofit
sector. More than 50% of all responding churches reported using financial management software,
membership management software, website, social media and audio/video solutions. We also found that
the majority of the larger churches also utilize security software and online giving.
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With a significant technology trend towards cloud computing, we asked churches about their cloud
technology resources. Again we found some substantial differences between churches based on size
(attendance), with the larger churches twice as likely to utilize cloud technology for payroll, financial
management, membership management and audio/video.
While budgets and giving have struggled along with the economy over the last three years, most
churches had 0-25% increases in their technology budget over the same period. Larger churches (over
1000 weekly attendance) had higher technology budget increases than smaller churches (less than 1000
weekly attendance. 46% of larger churches had budget increases of greater than 25% while 35% of
corresponding smaller churches had increases over 25%.
Budget Increase
>1000 Weekly Attendance
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Budget Increase
<1000 Weekly Attendance
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Engagement with Constituents
Churches are relying on technology more and more to engage with the community and constituents. We
found some significant differences in how churches engage and communicate through technology, based
on church size. When asked about utilizing message boards and blogs, 62% of larger churches did
compared to 38% of smaller churches.
49% of participating larger churches stream weekly services or special events on the web while 22% of
smaller churches stream services or events. When asked about interactive engagement using smart
phone applications during services and events, 36% of larger churches said “yes” while 15% of smaller
churches utilize this technology.
Approximately 70% of churches provide Wi-Fi to their mobile congregations, with 50% password
protecting their Wi-Fi.
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Social Media has become a significant communication tool over the last five years. While churches are
typically slower to adopt new technologies, there has been a significant increase in social media use
among churches for membership communication and community engagement. We asked churches if
they had a written social media policy to help guide staff and volunteers on what they can and cannot
discuss. 49% of responding larger churches either have a policy in place or are in the process of creating
one while smaller churches reported a corresponding rate of 29%.
Online Giving
Online fundraising and giving are a growing trend, across nonprofit organizations, foundations, and
churches. A recent survey by ChurchCentral.com1 found that implementation of online giving resulted in
an average change of an additional week of tithes and offerings every month. Because of increased
mobility of members and a growing move to online banking and bill paying, online giving options for
churches provides opportunity for giving – regardless of attendance. In our survey of churches, over
twice as many larger churches utilize online giving, and of those, online giving is typically <25% of total
receipts. For those that do utilize online giving, they have experienced an increase in giving.
Online giving responses for large churches ( >1000 weekly attendance):
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Online giving responses for small to medium churches ( <1000 weekly attendance):
Mobility
Mobility and 24/7 access is becoming more and more important in our culture. From smartphones to
tablets, anytime access is becoming the standard. Anytime access is more important to survey
participants in large churches (81%) (attendance >1000) while less important (62%) for small-medium
sized churches (<1000 attendance).
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© 2013 Intacct Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
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trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners
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Church Technology Needs
A desire for increased efficiency, better stewardship, increased accountability and transparency are
driving churches to seek better technology tools for reporting, communicating and managing. Program
and ministry stakeholders are looking for outcome measures. When asked churches if their current
systems allowed for tracking of program and ministry outcomes as well as giving metrics with automated
reporting, most did not support this or required manual processes to measure.
We asked churches about their biggest pain points related to their current financial management
technology. The responses were consistent across small, medium and large churches : process
automation, better/easier reporting, and 24/7 access anywhere, anytime.
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Churches are planning significant enhancements and updates to their current technology solutions in the
next twelve months with the most common response being for sound, recording, and video technology.
Churches have a greater need for technology than ever before. They seek to reduce cost, improve
efficiency, increase engagement with members and community, strengthen giving, and enhance
stewardship – all great reasons to utilize the dynamic technology options available to churches today to
help them maximize their mission and impact. For more information on how your church can leverage
modern financial management technology, or to see and hear from churches that are utilizing cloud
financial management, visit Intacct.
1
Online Giving: Is it right for your church? ChurchCentral.com
info@intacct.com | www.intacct.com | 877-437-7765
© 2013 Intacct Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
The Intacct logo is a trademark of Intacct Corporation in the United States. All other
trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners
www.lbmctech.com
info@lbmctech.com
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