Poor connectivity hitting rural churches

Rural churches in Gloucestershire face a funding crisis due to a lack of internet connectivity, according to new research.

Ecclesiastical Insurance found a third of rural churches are not using digital donations and blamed a lack of internet connectivity in their area.

The company said a series of bank closures has also affected donations.

Helen Richards from Ecclesiastical Insurance said: “As our banking habits have changed over the years churches have had to adapt to make sure they’re keeping up."

The insurance firm said churches will also have to deal with mobile phone networks switching off their 3G networks by 2025.

"By embracing digital donations they’re able to safeguard their income generation, which is great news - helping to preserve the church now and into the future," Ms Richards said.

“There are challenges ahead though, not least the issue around rural connectivity issues and bank closures.

"It’s a concern that so many respondents to our survey said they don’t have a fundraising plan in place. From a future resilience of the church perspective this exposes them to risks – such as the loss of one revenue stream in cash donations," she added.

At St Michael and All Angels church in Tirley members of the congregation struggle to be able to send a text message, so the chance of some payment technology working is minimal.

Church warden, Katherine Creese, said getting internet services installed in the building is a big problem:

"To actually try and install it at the moment would be a bit of a no, no. The walls are very thick, the internet connections in the village are not that brilliant and getting a phone signal depends on the weather," she said.

"We get many people saying, 'I haven't got any cash, how can I donate?' It is getting a little bit more tricky, especially at weddings.

"We would hope maybe in the foreseeable future to get some kind of connectivity here in the building, so that we can literally tap into that income source."

Hartpury Church has a small congregation, so relies on the kindness of visitors to make donations towards the upkeep of the building.

Warden, Jim Chapman, said installing a card machine would make a big difference:

"It's an attractive church in an attractive location and we have lots and lots of visitors coming here. It's obviously a source of revenue for us and is becoming increasingly important," he explained.

"We have very poor internet connection, but we do now have fibre to the church and it's actually into the church building and very, very relevant. On our list is to get some card machines.

"What a lot of people seem to do now is clear out their loose change. So there are a lot of coppers and smaller bits of silver in the donation. If we get a card machine people could give five pounds, or we could put various buttons on to suggest a donation, so I'm quite hopeful. "

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