Which Day of the Week is Biggest for Church Giving?

As payment trends and technologies continue to emerge and develop in the retail and service industries, there’s a real impact felt in an unlikely place — the local church.

Many people pay for their morning coffee with an app, tap an icon on their home screen to cover lunch, and even fill up their gas tanks by touching their phone to the pump. When those same people get to church and are moved to give or return their tithe, however, they realize they forgot to get cash at the ATM or left their checkbook at home. As a result, churches are turning to a church giving app or mobile solution that empowers their attendees to give in the ways that are the most convenient and most comfortable for them.

Church Giving App Donations by the Numbers

At Givelify, the world’s top-downloaded and highest-reviewed church giving app, we’ve processed over 2,000,000 transactions (that’s a lot) and helped thousands of churches to reclaim contributions and gifts that would have otherwise been missed due to a technology gap in the church.

We’ve also been able to gain fascinating insight into modern church giving and contributions, and what we’ve learned will enable churches to further capitalize on the shift to mobile. We’re compiling our findings into a comprehensive market report (which we’re excited to release in September), but in the meantime we wanted to share just a glimpse into what we’ve found.

So, which days of the week do people tend to give using a church giving app?

Percentage of Donations

Sunday (Shocker, We Know)

54% of app users are giving on Sunday, and they’re giving during expected worship times (we see the heaviest usage between 8 AM and 3 PM EST). Now, on the surface this may not seem to be earth-shattering information. After all, aren’t most of your contributors already giving on Sunday? But think about those who are most likely to use an app to give in church — did they bring cash? Do they even know where their checkbook is (if they have one)?

That 54% of users who are giving on a Sunday are, most likely, the contributors who were falling into the technology gap and unable to participate in giving before the church launched an online and mobile church giving app solution!

It’s also interesting to note that this means there are 46% of church giving app users who are now able to give whenever and wherever they want, and choose to give on days other than Sunday. So, what’s the second biggest giving day?

Fridays Bring Firstfruits

Why Friday? Statistically, Friday is the most common payday in the United States for both weekly and bi-weekly payroll. The fact that 13% of mobile church app users are giving on Friday indicates that an app-based giving solution enables your congregants to return their tithe immediately after being paid — a win-win that empowers contributor faithfulness and unties church finances from centering on Sundays only.

The concept of a “firstfruits” offering was instituted in the Old Testament (Leviticus 23), when the people were instructed to bring a sheaf of grain — the first one taken from their harvest— to the priest, who would then wave it as an offering to the Lord. The principle was clear. Honor God first with your increase, and He’ll then bless and increase the rest. While not a mandate for the New Testament believer, the concept of firstfruits is a powerful reminder to give from our substance, not our surplus.

This spike in giving on Friday demonstrates that being able to honor God first is important to many congregants. Don’t miss the opportunity to empower your most faithful financial supporters!

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Whether you’re looking to bridge the technology gap or trying to find ways to empower faithful financial stewardship, Givelify can help.