Should Churches Accept Crypto?

Cryptocurrency is making its way into church finance, raising important questions about whether this represents a brilliant opportunity or dangerous gamble for ministry stewardship. We examine the case for and against churches accepting Bitcoin and other digital currencies, weighing practical considerations against biblical principles of financial management.

• Expanding giving opportunities through cryptocurrency can reach younger, tech-savvy believers
• Unlike cash, cryptocurrencies have potential to increase in value over time before being used for ministry
• Crypto offers global giving options with lower international transfer fees
• Extreme volatility means donations might be worth significantly less when actually needed
• Tax regulations remain complicated since the IRS considers crypto property, not cash
• Ethical concerns exist about anonymous transactions potentially conflicting with church values
• Biblical stewardship principles of transparency, accountability, and risk management must apply
• Churches need a clear plan for when to hold or sell cryptocurrency before accepting donations

What do you think? Has your church started accepting cryptocurrency? Email me at podcast@chemistrystaffing.com or leave a comment on our YouTube channel.

Have questions or comments? Send to podcast@chemistrystaffing.com

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Churches Accepting Crypto
• 1:31 The Case For Cryptocurrency
• 3:29 Risks and Challenges of Crypto
• 6:00 Biblical Stewardship and Cryptocurrency
• 9:02 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

Hey, did you know that some churches are now accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum in their offering plates Not literally in their offering plates, but that's right. Cryptocurrency is making its way into church finance. But the question today we're going to talk about is this a brilliant move or is it a dangerous gamble? If your church is considering accepting crypto, stick around. We're going to break down the pros, the cons and whether it aligns with biblical stewardship right here on today's Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Thanks so much for joining me.

Speaker 1: 0:41

My name is Todd Rhodes. I'm one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom. Today we're talking crypto and, as I said, we're going to talk first of all about the case for crypto why your church maybe should consider cryptocurrency in the future. Then we're going to look at, maybe, why you should not, and then we're going to take the pros and the cons and stack them up against what the Bible tells us about generosity and stewardship. Okay, if you don't know what cryptocurrency is, man, go Google it. There are tons of things. I don't know that. I totally understand it all the blockchain technology and everything. But, truth be told, I have a small interest a little bit of Bitcoin, a little bit of Ethereum as part of my overall retirement and investment strategy, but that's neither here nor there. You don't care about that.

Speaker 1: 1:27

Let's start with some of the reasons that churches should maybe consider. Let's call it the case for accepting crypto and why some churches are saying yes, and I think I've got three big reasons here. The first is it just expands your giving opportunities. Churches are always looking for ways to make giving more accessible. We did that with online giving, we've done that with text to give and all those different kinds of things. This is a different way that you can expand your giving opportunities. Fewer people do this, fewer people carrying cash and checks and digital giving man. It's on the rise, and crypto is a part of that trend. Okay, so accepting crypto could help you reach new donors, including younger and more tech-savvy believers, who invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum and are starting to. As businesses and companies, even fast food chains are starting to allow payments in crypto and Bitcoin. It might be something for your church to consider as well. So that's the first reason, just as a different option, right? The second is potential for asset growth. So, unlike cash, which stays at face value, cryptocurrencies have potential to increase, just like a regular stock or a bond. Okay, they have the potential to increase in value over time. Some churches have received crypto donations that have doubled or tripled in worth before being used for the ministry, but we're going to talk about the downside of that here in a second Hold on. So that's number two. And then third is just for some churches that are larger, that have maybe people all over the world, crypto is a global giving option, so it does open up some opportunities there. Just because crypto is borderless, churches that have maybe international supporters or missionaries could receive funds from around the world without high transfer fees, which is huge. Okay, so those are some of the things, some of the reasons that churches are maybe either already jumped in or are thinking about it.

Speaker 1: 3:24

Now let's talk about some of the downsides, some of the risks and challenges of crypto for churches. And the first remember we talked about the value may go up. Some churches doubled tripled. First, remember we talked about the value may go up. Some churches doubled tripled. If somebody gave them $100 in Bitcoin, it might be worth $300 or $400 or $500 now. But here's the truth Just like with a regular stock or a regular bond, that can go up or down. So one day I forget what I was trading at today and it could be totally probably is totally different whenever you're listening or watching this. I think today it's like $88,000 for one Bitcoin. Tomorrow it could be $50,000 or it could be $120,000. It is extremely volatile, all right. So this kind of volatility means that a crypto donation today might be worth far less when the church actually needs to use it.

Speaker 1: 4:13

Okay, easiest way I can say this somebody gives your church a $20 bill. If you put that $20 bill in your bank account, in a week, that's going to be worth $20. In a month it's going to be worth $20. If you leave it in there for a year, just in a regular checking account, you're going to have inflation and all that. I get that, but it's still going to be worth $20 of Bitcoin.

Speaker 1: 4:32

Today. You can either cash it. If somebody gives you a gift of $20 in Bitcoin, you could cash that and put that cash into your bank, or you could hold it, and if you hold it for a year, that $20 Bitcoin gift could be $100 or $1,000, but it also could be $2.50. What that means is, because of the volatility, a crypto donation today might be worth far less when you actually go to cash it in? Okay. So that's the first downside. The second downside is just regulations and tax implications, and these are still really blurry, really fuzzy, at least in the U? S. I think there's probably going to be some increased regulation and some increased laws and rules on this, but right now, crypto isn't cash. It's considered property by the IRS. Okay, so that means accepting Bitcoin or any kind of cryptocurrency comes with some kind of cloudy and complicated tax rules.

Speaker 1: 5:24

Okay, and potential compliance headaches for churches. So that's something you need to look at, okay. And then some churches just have ethical and theological concerns. Some church leaders worry about where crypto money even comes from. Maybe they don't understand it, or they just don't like the anonymous part of that right. So, since crypto transactions can be made anonymously, churches risk, maybe unknowingly, accepting donations from sources that might not align with biblical value. So there could be some ethical or theological concerns as well.

Speaker 1: 5:56

All right, so we've looked at the pro and the cons. Let's really quickly, and then I'll get you out of here. For today. Let's look at the pros and the cons and put those up against some biblical standards. All right, some biblical stewardship. Does crypto fit? Okay, so let's start here. The Bible does. It speaks a lot about money, but not a lot about Bitcoin. As a matter of fact, it doesn't mention Bitcoin. So how do we apply these biblical principles to crypto?

Speaker 1: 6:20

Okay, first is transparency and accountability. Churches, you've got to be good stewards of every donation, that's whether it's a $20 bill or a $20 check or a $20 gift of Bitcoin. You need to ensure that funds are used wisely and ethically. 1 Corinthians 4.2. Regardless of where that money or where that donation comes from, you have to be good stewards of it. Secondly, though, I think you do have to avoid unnecessary risks. So Proverbs 21.5 reminds us that the plans of the diligent lead to profit, which is great. That could apply to Bitcoin, right. But it also says that just as surely as haste leads to poverty, okay. So if you're going to accept cryptocurrency, you need to avoid that unnecessary risk. And crypto can be unpredictable and churches must weigh kind of the wise planning versus risky speculation.

Speaker 1: 7:18

And then, does it serve the mission and not just a trend? Are you doing it to serve the mission if you decide to take Bitcoin or cryptocurrency, or are you just trying to go with the trend? Okay, if your church is considering crypto because it truly benefits the mission and you think it is, then yeah, maybe, if you're doing it just because everybody else is starting to do it or you think it's trendy, maybe not. Every decision should support kingdom work. So should your church bottom line, should your church, accept cryptocurrency? Todd, I think it depends. You're like Todd.

Speaker 1: 7:59

What am I listening to this for in the first place, if you're not going to tell me what to do here? Okay, so here's the deal. If you do it wisely, with a clear plan for managing risks, it could expand, giving opportunities. But if you're not, if you don't have a plan and if it's not handled correctly, it could cause financial and ethical challenges for you and your church. I really think, man, this is important. This, I think, is hopefully worth you listening today.

Speaker 1: 8:27

If you're thinking about getting into Bitcoin, you have to have a plan. Or accepting cryptocurrency, you have to have a plan when will you sell? When will you hold? It makes things a little bit more complex, but I think you need to have a plan going into it. Before you accept even your first cryptocurrency donation, you need to determine what are we going to do with this. Are we going to cash it immediately? Are we going to speculate it and wait to see if it goes up or goes down, but if you don't have a clear plan going in man, I've seen churches do this in all different areas If you don't have a plan going in, chances are it's not going to be a good decision for you. So what do you think Should churches use crypto?

Speaker 1: 9:06

If you're listening, I would love to hear your comment on this. You can email me anytime. Podcast at chemistrystapping. If you're watching on YouTube, you can drop a comment in the comment section below. But I would love to hear from you and just to hear has your church already started to accept cryptocurrency as donations? Are you thinking about it? Would you never ever do it? I would love to hear what you thought. What's your biggest question about cryptocurrency? Maybe, and the church? Maybe I could do a future podcast on that. I'd love to hear from you. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. Okay, thanks so much for listening. We'll be back here again tomorrow on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Hope you have a great day, thank you.