Dr. Marty Baker is pastor of Stevens Creek Church of God in Augusta, Georgia.  He says, "I don't carry cash.  I don't carry a checkbook, but I live my life with a debit card in my hand, and I started to think, what if there were people in my congregation just like me." 

     That was when Dr. Baker came up with the idea of a giving kiosk.  The first one went into his church in 2005.  He says, "In the first year, we took in a little over a 100,000 dollars on the giving kiosk and this year it looks like we're going to hit the 200,000 dollar mark."

     The kiosks work like an ATM.  Only instead of taking money out, you're giving it to the church.  Dr. Baker says, "They can give in different funds.  For our church, it's tithes, offering, general funds, or missions, and they get to choose which fund they would like to give."

     Dr. Baker recognizes the kiosks aren't for every church.  Some traditional houses of worship would rather stay away from the technology, but other contemporary churches have expressed interest.  More than a half dozen have ordered their own kiosks from Baker's company, SecureGive.  He says, "It is our goal to help churches across this land maximize their ministries by maximizing their stewardship, and we encourage you to step out and to embrace new technology because it'll make a difference in your church."

     Dr. Baker says the kiosks can be tailored to meet a church's specifications.  Some accept both credit cards and debit cards.  Others take debit only.  That ensures church members won't go into debt in order to give.