FAQ - Electronic Services (First Net)
by Blane Pearson, Minister of Administration
E-Giving—otherwise known as electronic funds transfer, electronic debiting, automatic recurring bill paying, etc.
Q. How does this work?
A. The church issued all families a login and password to our First Net site where you can login to give online one time or set up recurring giving. You will need your bank routing and account numbers. Credit cards will not be usable for donations at this time.
Q. How does this save the church time and money?
A. Normally, people write checks or give cash. This money has to be sorted and bagged on Sunday morning and put in the drop safe. On Monday, counters come in to count, sort, and process that money. The accounts receivable person then sits at the computer and manually posts each check into the proper account, stamps the back of all the checks, prepares a deposit, and reconciles the computer to the cash. With electronic giving, nearly all these steps are bypassed. Everything happens with the click of a button and the reconciling is also automatic. This almost eliminates the chance of posting errors as well.
Q. Can I pick the frequency and day to have my account swept?
A. Absolutely, You can choose Monthly (12 times a year), Bi-weekly (every other week=26 times a year), weekly, or Quarterly (4 times a year).
Q. Why should people paying their bills online switch to this?
A. First, if they pay any fee, then this service is free. Secondly, the church still receives a check from their financial institution and it has to go through the whole process mentioned above and really saves the church no time or effort.
Q. Can I sign up for other regular electronic giving?
A. Yes, if you tithe weekly, but want to give to the Imagine Building campaign, benevolence, missions, etc. on a monthly (or weekly, bi-weekly) basis, you can do that.
Q. What do I do to enroll?
A. If you did not keep the email or mailed letter with your login name and password, then click here to send an email request for a new one. Click Here to go to the First Net Site to sign on.
2. Contribution History
Q. How will this save time and money for the church?
A. See E-Newsletter; this is very similar to that as it relates to the printing, folding, stuffing, mailing, postage, etc. The difference here is that there are only two people who can work on most of this process, due to the personal nature of the information being handled. It's a good thing this is only done once a quarter, because it is a huge job to process these statements to all of our giving units. You will also receive your E-statement days ahead of a mailed statement. We know this is important for those who file income tax right away in January.
Q. Can I view my giving online?
A. Yes, the FirstNet site has a listing of your current year and past year giving. It is not as detailed as your church issued statement.
Q. Will I be able to print my emailed statement?
A. Yes!
Q. Is my emailed statement secure?
A. Yes, a password is required to open the PDF attached statement. Use the last 4 digits of the home phone we show listed in our database. If someone else where to access your statement, there is no identifying information to indicate the name on the statement until it is opened. As long as you don't share the method of the password, then even someone in your home would have to guess at the password.
Q. How do I get E-Statements?
A. Click the link below to sign up, or call the church office. Make sure to give us your current email address (even if you think we have the right one).
Ready to Sign up for "e-statements"?
3. E-Newsletter—or pickup-newsletter, or webview-newsletter—it’s your choice.
Q. How does my switching from mail delivery save time and money?
A. In the past, we have mailed out about 5000 newsletters. That’s 4 sides of 11X17 heavy stock paper printed in two colors (on some sides). These newsletters are run on our own press by a staff person. They are then folded on a folding machine. Another staff person runs off all the mailing labels ($70) on a printer. The two pages are then stuffed one inside the other and then they are folded on a commercial folding machine. Approximately 12 volunteers then put the labels on and peel/stick the closing tabs on the edges (required by the post office). The whole group is then sorted to bulk mail standards and prepared for the post office. Someone else then loads them in a van/truck and delivers them to the post office. Are you tired yet from reading that? Think of all the machinery wear and tear, ink, tabs, rubber bands, etc. on top of the cost of the paper and labels.
Q. When can I expect the Newsletter to be delivered or ready to view/pick up?
A. Our monthly First Light newsletters (via all means--email, online, mail, racks) will be delivered or ready for pick up by or shortly before the first day of the upcoming month.
Q. I’m convinced, how do I help?
A. Pick an alternative method of delivery. There’s email, viewing on the web, mail, or pick up in racks. Simply sign up online or call the church office. NOTE: As of 1-1-09 all newsletters are now emailed to all valid email addresses. If you prefer a mailed copy, you must sign up for it by clicking the link below.
Q. How does the “pick up” option work?
A. The monthly newsletter will be placed in its slot in the information racks around the building by the first day of the upcoming month. Any time you are at the church (Wednesday night dinner, small group, Sundays, etc.) just take your copy out of a rack. We will publish a reminder in the Sunday bulletin when it is a newsletter week coming up.
Q. Can I print the Email or Web version on my home printer? A.Yes, the PDF copy is formatted in 8 1/2 X 11 pages which will mean about 8 pages to print. The html version will also be printable from your browser.
Ready to sign up for the newsletter?