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GIVING
"But just as you excel in everything… see that you also excel in this grace of giving." - 2 Corinthians 8:7
"But just as you excel in everything… see that you also excel in this grace of giving." - 2 Corinthians 8:7
If you are having any problems or need assistance with online giving, you can send an email to our finance team at
giving@fellowshipws.com.
WAYS TO GIVE AT FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
There are multiple ways for you to give at Fellowship Church. Each method allows for God's work to be done as you are faithful to his calling to give back.
3 Simple Steps
1. Create a user id and password.
2. Provide contact and bank or credit card information.
3. Indicate the amount, frequency (one-time or recurring) and designation for your gift.
GIVE-ONLINE
There are several benefits to online giving for both you and our church. Some of them are. . .
- Faithfully Honoring God - When you sign up to give online you are deciding in advance to faithfully give. God always blesses that kind of faith! The Bible teaches that we are to honor God with the “First Fruits” of our labor (Proverbs 3:9). By setting up a recurring contribution that is scheduled to come out of your account on the day you specify, you can ensure that your First Fruits are faithfully given back to God.
- Simplicity - You won’t have to remember whether you gave this month or send in an offering by mail when you’re on a trip.
- Security – We utilize an encrypted secure website for your online records. Online giving is more secure than giving with a check or cash because an electronic gift can’t be lost or stolen.
- Focus – Instead of having to worry about writing a check and filling out an envelope during the service, you can be fully focused on the worship service, knowing that you have already given your offering.
- Helping Fellowship – Online giving is more cost effective for our church to process, and it makes our record keeping much easier.
AUTOMATED BANK DEBIT
Automated Bank Debit is the easiest and most effective way to automate your giving. Once it is set up, you may update or change your giving at any time by simply contacting Fellowship Church office. Plus, 100% of your gift goes to the ministries of Fellowship because there are no processing fees.
TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Financial giving at Fellowship Church can generally be divided into two categories: tithes and offerings. The Bible teaches us that we worship the Lord with our tithe, which is ten percent of our income contributed to the church on a regular basis. You can learn more about tithes here. When we feel called to give over and above our tithe, we do so as an offering.
STEWARDSHIP
The ministry of Fellowship Church is funded by God's provision through the tithes and offerings of faithful Fellowship members and attenders. At Fellowship we honor God's provision by exercising wise and faithful stewardship, ethical business practices, and full accountability so that the financial integrity of Fellowship remains beyond reproach.
Our mission is facilitated through our system of internal controls over financial reporting and our internal budgeting and reporting processes.
Members of Fellowship Church may request a copy of our most recent financial statements or ask general questions about our financial practices at any time by contacting us at giving@fellowshipws.com.
A NOTE ABOUT CREDIT CARDS
While we allow the use of credit cards for tithes and offerings, we still strongly encourage the use of electronic funds transfer rather than credit card for two primary reasons:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is it safe to give online?
Yes. In many ways giving online is safer than writing a check because an electronic gift cannot be lost or stolen. The security of the system is continually managed by Fellowship One.
Q: What types of bank accounts can I give from?
You can give online from your checking account, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express.
Q: Are there any fees involved with giving online?
Not to you. You will not pay any fees with an online gift. In addition, online gifts are a more cost efficient way for the church to process donations.
Q: Can I make a one-time contribution?
Yes. The system allows you the option of either making a one-time contribution or setting up a recurring contribution. For a one-time contribution, you can designate that the contribution should be made immediately or, for both one-time and recurring contributions, you can schedule the contributions to come out of your bank account on the date(s) specified by you.
Q: If I want to set-up a recurring gift, what are my options for frequency of my gift?
For recurring gifts, you have the option of giving weekly, twice a month, every two weeks or once a month.
Q: Can I change my personal information or the amount or the frequency of my gift once I have set it up?
Yes. You can change or cancel your contribution at any time before the date of your next contribution. Simply log in to the system using your user name and password and make the necessary changes in the system.
Q: Can I review my donation history online?
Yes. The site will allow you to view the complete history of your contributions, given either online or otherwise. Once you’ve created an account, you will able to contribute immediately. However, for security purposes, before you can see any past contributions, we must manually connect your online account with your previous information. This is a one-time process when you initially create your account. After that, you can view your history at any time.
Q: Will I still receive regular contribution statements from the church?
Yes. The church will continue to send year-end contribution statements to your address on file for tax purposes.
Q: When will contributions be taken from my account?
Contributions will be taken from your specified bank account within 48 business hours of the date you requested. This time frame allows time for the contribution to process through your bank and the church’s bank. If the date of your contribution falls on a weekend or a holiday, the transaction will be initiated on the next banking day.
Q: How will I know that I set up my gift correctly?
Immediately after submitting your contribution, you will receive an e-mail verifying your contribution.
Q: Does it matter which Internet browser I use?
No. Any browser will work.
Q: I have additional questions about online giving that have not been addressed. Who can I talk to?
For any questions, concerns or comments about the online giving system, please contact us at giving@fellowshipws.com. You will
receive a response from our staff as soon as possible.
Q: What types of bank accounts can I give from?
You can give online from your bank account via an ACH transaction. You can also give using MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express.
Q. Can I use a debit card?
You can use a debit check card from Visa or MasterCard, but true debit cards are not accepted through the Fellowship One system due to the sensitivity of securely requesting a Personal Identification Number (PIN). ACH bank drafts can be used instead for true debits.
Security
At Fellowship Church, we use an online database called Fellowship One. Their system allows us to provide access to your contribution records and allows you to make donations online. They provide all of the security for the system. This system is used by churches throughout the country and has been fully tested by them.
There are two aspects of security related to the system. First, Fellowship One provides data security using the latest security technology. The following statement is from their security documentation: "[the system] utilizes the most current encryption technology to maintain the security of your data. Every parameter passed in the hyperlinks is fully encrypted. Additionally, the Login module handles passwords using what is known in technical terms as salted hash. In laymen’s terms, this means it would take 50 computers (running constantly) continuously presenting password combinations four years to discover the password."
The second aspect of security relates to account creation. When you first create a new account in the system, you will be able to donate immediately, but you will not have access to any previous contribution information. Before that can happen, we must manually link your previous information to the account you created.
In order to verify the authenticity of the account request, we will ensure that all of your data matches our current records (e.g., address, phone number, and email address). If there is any question, we will contact you via email before creating the link. Since this is a manual process, we will perform these steps approximately once a week, but if you would like to speed up this process, you can send an email to giving@fellowshipws.com.
When you create your account, you will determine your own login id and password. If you forget your login id or password, you can have the system email it to you by entering the email address that you used when you created your account. If you need help or cannot remember the email address you used, you can contact us at giving@fellowshipws.com. You can also change your password at any time.
Please help us keep your information safe by protecting your login information. Access to sensitive personal and financial information can be
gained by letting someone else use your account or by leaving the information for someone else to see. Grace will never call you to ask for your login
information.
Online Giving Privacy Policies
Your information is held securely by the Fellowship One system. This information will remain private and will never be given away to third parties, other than to process your scheduled contributions. You can schedule new contributions at any time and can modify or cancel those contributions at any time prior to the date they are scheduled. Once the contribution has been processed, however, it cannot be cancelled. If you have any problems or questions related to this, please contact us at giving@fellowshipws.com.
Automated Bank Debit is the easiest and most effective way to automate your giving. Once it is set up, you may update or change your giving at any time by simply contacting Fellowship Church office. Plus, 100% of your gift goes to the ministries of Fellowship because there are no processing fees.
TITHES AND OFFERINGS
Financial giving at Fellowship Church can generally be divided into two categories: tithes and offerings. The Bible teaches us that we worship the Lord with our tithe, which is ten percent of our income contributed to the church on a regular basis. You can learn more about tithes here. When we feel called to give over and above our tithe, we do so as an offering.
STEWARDSHIP
The ministry of Fellowship Church is funded by God's provision through the tithes and offerings of faithful Fellowship members and attenders. At Fellowship we honor God's provision by exercising wise and faithful stewardship, ethical business practices, and full accountability so that the financial integrity of Fellowship remains beyond reproach.
Our mission is facilitated through our system of internal controls over financial reporting and our internal budgeting and reporting processes.
Members of Fellowship Church may request a copy of our most recent financial statements or ask general questions about our financial practices at any time by contacting us at giving@fellowshipws.com.
A NOTE ABOUT CREDIT CARDS
While we allow the use of credit cards for tithes and offerings, we still strongly encourage the use of electronic funds transfer rather than credit card for two primary reasons:
- Although many pay off their credit cards each month, many also do not. We do not want to encourage someone to go into debt and pay interest on gifts given to the church.
- With electronic transfer, your entire gift goes to the church. When using a credit card, as much as 3% of your gift can go to the credit card company.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is it safe to give online?
Yes. In many ways giving online is safer than writing a check because an electronic gift cannot be lost or stolen. The security of the system is continually managed by Fellowship One.
Q: What types of bank accounts can I give from?
You can give online from your checking account, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express.
Q: Are there any fees involved with giving online?
Not to you. You will not pay any fees with an online gift. In addition, online gifts are a more cost efficient way for the church to process donations.
Q: Can I make a one-time contribution?
Yes. The system allows you the option of either making a one-time contribution or setting up a recurring contribution. For a one-time contribution, you can designate that the contribution should be made immediately or, for both one-time and recurring contributions, you can schedule the contributions to come out of your bank account on the date(s) specified by you.
Q: If I want to set-up a recurring gift, what are my options for frequency of my gift?
For recurring gifts, you have the option of giving weekly, twice a month, every two weeks or once a month.
Q: Can I change my personal information or the amount or the frequency of my gift once I have set it up?
Yes. You can change or cancel your contribution at any time before the date of your next contribution. Simply log in to the system using your user name and password and make the necessary changes in the system.
Q: Can I review my donation history online?
Yes. The site will allow you to view the complete history of your contributions, given either online or otherwise. Once you’ve created an account, you will able to contribute immediately. However, for security purposes, before you can see any past contributions, we must manually connect your online account with your previous information. This is a one-time process when you initially create your account. After that, you can view your history at any time.
Q: Will I still receive regular contribution statements from the church?
Yes. The church will continue to send year-end contribution statements to your address on file for tax purposes.
Q: When will contributions be taken from my account?
Contributions will be taken from your specified bank account within 48 business hours of the date you requested. This time frame allows time for the contribution to process through your bank and the church’s bank. If the date of your contribution falls on a weekend or a holiday, the transaction will be initiated on the next banking day.
Q: How will I know that I set up my gift correctly?
Immediately after submitting your contribution, you will receive an e-mail verifying your contribution.
Q: Does it matter which Internet browser I use?
No. Any browser will work.
Q: I have additional questions about online giving that have not been addressed. Who can I talk to?
For any questions, concerns or comments about the online giving system, please contact us at giving@fellowshipws.com. You will
receive a response from our staff as soon as possible.
Q: What types of bank accounts can I give from?
You can give online from your bank account via an ACH transaction. You can also give using MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express.
Q. Can I use a debit card?
You can use a debit check card from Visa or MasterCard, but true debit cards are not accepted through the Fellowship One system due to the sensitivity of securely requesting a Personal Identification Number (PIN). ACH bank drafts can be used instead for true debits.
Security
At Fellowship Church, we use an online database called Fellowship One. Their system allows us to provide access to your contribution records and allows you to make donations online. They provide all of the security for the system. This system is used by churches throughout the country and has been fully tested by them.
There are two aspects of security related to the system. First, Fellowship One provides data security using the latest security technology. The following statement is from their security documentation: "[the system] utilizes the most current encryption technology to maintain the security of your data. Every parameter passed in the hyperlinks is fully encrypted. Additionally, the Login module handles passwords using what is known in technical terms as salted hash. In laymen’s terms, this means it would take 50 computers (running constantly) continuously presenting password combinations four years to discover the password."
The second aspect of security relates to account creation. When you first create a new account in the system, you will be able to donate immediately, but you will not have access to any previous contribution information. Before that can happen, we must manually link your previous information to the account you created.
In order to verify the authenticity of the account request, we will ensure that all of your data matches our current records (e.g., address, phone number, and email address). If there is any question, we will contact you via email before creating the link. Since this is a manual process, we will perform these steps approximately once a week, but if you would like to speed up this process, you can send an email to giving@fellowshipws.com.
When you create your account, you will determine your own login id and password. If you forget your login id or password, you can have the system email it to you by entering the email address that you used when you created your account. If you need help or cannot remember the email address you used, you can contact us at giving@fellowshipws.com. You can also change your password at any time.
Please help us keep your information safe by protecting your login information. Access to sensitive personal and financial information can be
gained by letting someone else use your account or by leaving the information for someone else to see. Grace will never call you to ask for your login
information.
Online Giving Privacy Policies
Your information is held securely by the Fellowship One system. This information will remain private and will never be given away to third parties, other than to process your scheduled contributions. You can schedule new contributions at any time and can modify or cancel those contributions at any time prior to the date they are scheduled. Once the contribution has been processed, however, it cannot be cancelled. If you have any problems or questions related to this, please contact us at giving@fellowshipws.com.
