Over the last year, we’ve seen the church become increasingly innovative to attract, reach, and retain their congregations. These advancements have helped the church create sustainable online communities where believers can fellowship and worship together. Along with these online advancements has come the need for giving systems to provide cutting-edge solutions for donations. Our MortarStone Customer Spotlight this month features Hoboken Grace Church and how they’ve worked with cryptocurrencies to increase giving through sophisticated contribution methods.

Here’s Stewardship Pastor Vinny Hu’s story…

Mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies has continued to grow in recent years, with several significant developments taking place even in the past few weeks. Understanding this change to the financial landscape, we now offer those who attend our church the ability to honor God and express their generosity in a new, wise, and tax-efficient way. Admittedly, we were initially hesitant about cryptocurrencies due to their past associations with illicit activities and the high volatility. It took time to warm up to the idea, but we also kept a close eye on developments and opportunities in the space. 

Hoboken Grace Community Church is situated on the doorsteps of Manhattan, and we have many people who work in the financial services industry, including specialists in the cryptocurrency space. This came with the great benefit of knowledgeable members who were able to speak to the situation as we made the decision to accept cryptocurrencies. We now believe that many of the major cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, meet the standards we expect. This was reinforced by recent announcements from PayPal, Square, and other corporations that they will support the day-to-day use of Bitcoin.

As a church leadership team, we also decided to mitigate some of the potential volatility and security risks by setting the account to automatically and immediately convert all gifts to US Dollars and deposit them into our checking account. The whole process has proved to be relatively easy – and not dissimilar from opening a brokerage account. We are also very careful to communicate the implications and benefits of cryptocurrency donations to those who may be considering the new option as well as encouraging them to speak to a tax and finance specialist for specific situations. So far, we are really pleased, and as long as the positive trends on cryptocurrencies continue, we expect and look forward to continued giving in this new and creative way!

Providing givers with education and resources to consider creative gifts is essential for long-term funding stability. If you’d like to learn more about alternative gift options, let us know – our team of Generosity Strategists is here to help you make decisions that will increase giving and further your ministry’s vision for sharing the Gospel.