When Brother Jun Reyes, the finance elder of Shepherd's Heart Community Church in Cebu City, set up their StewardTrack online giving integration in August 2025, he had modest expectations. "I thought maybe 5% of our members would use it," he told us. "Mostly the younger ones."
Six months later, 34% of their weekly giving comes in digitally. Their total monthly giving is up 28% compared to the same period in 2024.
What Changed?
The numbers are striking, but the story behind them is more nuanced than "online = more money." Several things happened at once.
Members who travel for work can now give consistently. Shepherd's Heart has a significant number of OFWs and members who work in Cebu City but travel frequently. Before online giving, their contributions were erratic — heavy when they were home, nothing when they were away. Now they give weekly from wherever they are.
The recurring giving feature changed habits. When members set up a recurring monthly donation, they stop thinking about whether to give each week and start giving on autopilot. Shepherd's Heart now has 47 members on recurring schedules. That is ₱180,000 per month that arrives regardless of attendance.
Transparency increased trust. Brother Jun started sharing a monthly giving update in the church bulletin — total online donations received, total traditional offerings, and the running total toward their building fund goal. "People started talking about it. They started encouraging each other to give online because they could see it moving the number."
The Treasurer's Perspective
The operational benefit was just as significant as the giving increase. Before StewardTrack, the counting team spent three to four hours every Sunday counting and recording offering envelopes. Online donations required zero counting — they appeared in the system automatically, already categorized.
"I used to dread Monday mornings," Brother Jun said. "Now I just review the weekend summary in StewardTrack, which takes maybe 20 minutes, and I'm done."
Could This Work for Your Church?
Shepherd's Heart is not a megachurch. They have about 280 active members, a modest building, and no professional finance staff. What worked for them was not a sophisticated strategy — it was simply making it easy to give and being transparent about where the money goes.
StewardTrack's online giving feature is available on all plans, including the free Essential tier.
