Giving FAQ

Proverbs 3:9, “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.” Jesus taught that our attitude towards money is an indicator of our hearts. Paul taught that when we are loved by God and love God in return we will give cheerfully, sacrificially, and regularly. The Bible teaches that God is the owner of everything, including our money and possessions. When we give, we give back to God what God already owns. Our giving is an indication of trust, discipleship, and commitment. We believe that it is a worthy goal for us to make regular strides towards achieving the minimum Biblical standard for giving of 10%, commonly called a “tithe.” Medford UMC periodically offers classes designed to teach and encourage both Biblical stewardship and money management, with the ultimate goal being how to approach the subject of money in a proven, systematic way that can lead to true financial peace. Part of this strategy for our money would be to give the tithe and even beyond a tithe to support the ministry of Christ in the world. This is sound teaching; after all, remember that Jesus had more to say about money than almost any other subject in the Bible.

Medford United Methodist Church, like most churches, prepares and adopts an annual budget. This budget is carefully prepared with detailed planning and projections of income and expense. The budget is an operating tool that guides our church in ministry, missions, and operations. It is important that every member and attendee understand their God-given role in supporting the financial needs of the church through systematic giving to the church. Giving envelopes are mailed to each church family annually and are also available in the pews. Your gifts support our church as we fulfill our mission to LOVE God, SERVE people, and TRANSFORM lives. And they don’t stop here, but go out into the world through our support for the work of the United Methodist Church around the globe.

You can give by using the secure E-giving page to enter your checking account or credit card information. Giving in this manner is perfectly safe, secure and easier than writing a check. You can set up an automatic electronic funds transfer (EFT) or credit card payment on a one-time, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis. The scheduling is very flexible.

Users of online giving are totally in control of their giving options. They can designate where their gifts go (general fund, building fund, etc.) and the frequency in which they give. Online giving is secure and tax deductible.

One way to potentially reduce your tax liability is through a gift of appreciated stock. The church also has a brokerage account to receive such gifts; contact the office for details.

It saves time! It saves work! It simplifies your life! You can avoid the hassle of writing and remembering checks! It can also help your consistency and faithfulness in giving. Plus, it helps your church by simplifying our financial processes and evening out our income fluctuations through the year.

Yes, you may give with the use of a credit card, although Medford UMC believes that living “debt free” is a worthy goal for all Christians. We offer online giving via the electronic payment of your choosing, but only as a convenience and not as a way to circumvent sound Biblical money management principles or in any way to incur debt. Here’s the rule of thumb: only give via credit card if you pay your credit card balances in full each month.

You can quickly and easily update your profile and banking information for recurring giving at any time through Pushpay or our church app. Here are the steps:

 

Online giving is more secure than handwritten checks. It cannot be lost, stolen, or destroyed in the mail. It has an extremely high rate of accuracy and is easier for the church accounting office to process. No one at the church ever has access to your account information. It is protected by our payment processor using state-of-the-art security.

It costs you nothing and saves you time. The fee to the church is nominal, about 3% for credit cards, less for debit cards or withdrawals from a bank account. If you’re inclined, consider rounding your gift up to cover those costs. Know that we have done our homework and negotiated with our vendors to ensure that we are getting the best possible rate for our payment processing.

Once you set up your EFT (bank) or credit card transaction, your specified contribution is electronically transferred directly from your checking, savings or credit card to the church’s account. Options are flexible and be set according to your schedule, including one-time, weekly, biweekly, or monthly options. You’ll receive a notification each time a transaction is initiated. Typically, the charge settles within a couple of days of the transaction date.

Within Pushpay, it’s not possible to split a recurring gift between different funds. In order to support multiple funds, you will need to set up more than one recurring gift – one for each fund that you wish to support.

Since your contribution is made at a pre-established time, you simply record it in your check register on the appropriate date.

Your bank statement gives you an itemized list of electronic transfers. It is your proof of contribution. The church will also record your gift and send you a record of your contributions for your tax records at year-end.

You can cancel your authorization at any time. But once you’ve enjoyed the convenience and practicality of online giving, we doubt you will want to go back to making contributions the way you did before.