Giving FAQs

Table of Contents

We’ve updated our giving platform to make giving simpler.
The next time you give, you may be asked to re-enter payment details and the interface may look a bit different. The process is quick and easy and your giving history remains intact.

How to Give

Crossroads is fueled by the generosity of everyday people. Check out www.crossroads.net/give to make a contribution, set up a recurring donation, or see how your money is being spent. If not using Apple Pay or Google Pay, you will be redirected to options to connect a bank account (through Stripe) or give through a Credit/Debit card and we use Apollos to complete your contribution.
If you still have questions or need help, email giving@crossroads.net and someone will get back with you.
Thanks for being on this team.

How to Give to a GO Trip?
If you'd like to donate to someone's GO Trip, click here and search by name for the trip participant.

What is Apollos?
Apollos is a digital platform that helps churches thrive, know their people better, and helps their people grow spiritually and take more next steps.

Is Apollos trusted?
Yes. Credit and Debit card details are tokenized and are stored off your device on industrial-grade servers where this information is then encrypted. The security setup we have used is the same as many banks and is Level 1 PCI DSS compliant. For this reason, Apollos is considered significantly more secure than many current offerings.

Is there a benefit to giving through a Bank Account vs. Credit Card?
Yes! Credit cards cost us about 2% to 2.5% for each transaction, and that adds up to hundreds of dollars each month. Setting up a direct withdrawal from your bank account using ACH gives you the peace of mind that the vast majority of your gift is going directly to Crossroads.

What credit cards are accepted?
Crossroads accepts MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover credit cards.

Are Apple Pay or Google Pay accepted?
Yes. Crossroads accepts Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Will my year-end giving statements come from Apollos or Crossroads?
Giving statements will be provided by Crossroads.

Is there a minimum amount I need to contribute?
Yes. You must designate a minimum of $1.00 to make a contribution.

How can I make sure my giving goes towards things at my campus?
All of our giving goes into one bucket for the entire church. However, we do like to know which campus you attend. When you give through Apollos, select the campus you attend. If you give by check or cash, write in the campus you attend.

What if I don’t have a phone to login to receive a confirmation text?
You can give via Apple Pay or Google Pay that does not require a login. Click here to give via Apple Pay or Google Pay.

May I modify or cancel my recurring donation at any time?
Yes - you may log in at any time to modify or cancel a recurring gift.

I need to change the credit card or bank account I use to give, what do I do?
If you want to change the credit card or bank account you use to give, click here. Locate the gift you want to change, and select the “Click here” option. This will take you to the screen to modify your credit card or bank account.

How do I stop my giving?
If you’re a recurring giver and want to stop giving, click here. Locate the gift you want to remove, and select the “Click here” option. This will take you to the screen to cancel your recurring gift.

Giving Philosophy

What are Crossroads' basic beliefs about money?
God owns everything. God created the Earth and everything in it, including us (Gen 1), and therefore everything is his. This eternal truth must drive how we approach every aspect of our lives, including finances. We strive to use what God has given us in ways that honor him, trusting that when we do so our lives will work better because we are operating more in line with how we were created.
As a church community, we seek to maximize the return on the investment that God makes in Crossroads through giving. We quickly deploy resources as effectively as possible. We don’t save what God expects to be used to serve people. We trust Jesus when he teaches in the parable of the talents (found in Matt 25:14-30) that God expects a good return and that those who provide a good return will be entrusted with more.

Where does Crossroads get its money?
Crossroads is 100% funded by people in our community who regularly give because their faith propels them to support the mission of their local church community. Crossroads is not funded by corporate interests, does not have an endowment, and does not have a handful of uber-wealthy individuals who pay the majority of the bills (though that would be great). The bills get paid, and lives get changed, because people who call Crossroads their home church, regardless of income level, follow the promptings of God to give to support the work.

Is the tithe based on my net or gross income?
The tithe is established in the Old Testament (Gen 14:20, Gen 28:20-22, Deut 26:1-2, 2 Chron 31:4-5), and is reaffirmed by Jesus (Luke 11:42). Tithing means giving the first 10% of your gross income to your local church. Why gross income? Because the principle of the tithe is that the first and best 10% of your income goes to God. In ancient times that may have been in the form of crops or livestock. Today that comes in the form of money. Giving off of net income means the government is getting your first, not God. Further, those who tithe understand that God blesses the tithe, and quite honestly, we’d rather see God bless our gross income instead of settling for him blessing our net income.

Does my giving really matter, don’t you get enough from big donors?
Crossroads runs on giving from everyday people, not from large million dollar gifts. Unlike many large churches, the majority of our funding is from the average person giving from their regular paychecks. There aren’t a bunch of rich uncles funding Crossroads. Every dollar counts here. All of the giving adds up and we can’t do this without it.

General Questions

Does Crossroads have high accounting standards?
Yes. We have an annual external audit by an independent CPA firm. Our regular audit is kind of a bear to read through, so you can check out an explainer if you scroll down on the page here

Can I find out individual staff salaries?
No. We find that the release of this kind of personal financial information can lead to comparison and discontentment amongst staff members and in the community at large. It fosters an environment of value assessments on whether or not a staff member should get what they are being paid, without being privy to the most recent performance review and other factors that contribute to setting a salary. We believe in trusting those in leadership who are making financial decisions, specifically our Board of Spiritual Directors.

What principles are used in setting salaries?
We use several criteria, including surveys of similar churches across the country to see what a similar position pays, the standard of living in the city where a role is based, the individual’s performance against stated goals and objectives and overall faithfulness and fruitfulness of the staff member.

Why does Crossroads give things away?
Crossroads is not a capital endeavor. We are a church that wants to build into people. When we see a need we can meet, we run to it.

What happens with yearly left-over money?
The leftover money is put back into the ministry budget fund for the following year.

If I give, can I determine where my money gets spent at Crossroads?
All general giving goes into one bucket and is divided among the various ministries each budget year.

Confidentiality & Security

Is giving on the site safe? Is your site secure?
Absolutely. Our site uses industry-standard SSL technology to ensure that the information you enter is kept secure. In addition, all sensitive information that we keep in our database is stored in encrypted form so that it is not human-readable.

Will I get spam by giving you my information?
While we may occasionally use your information to contact you, Crossroads does not buy, sell, barter, trade or otherwise distribute your information to any organization other than for the purposes you’ve given us permission to do (i.e. we have to tell the credit card company your name in order to charge your credit card).

How does Crossroads protect financial data?
Crossroads views your financial information as worthy of top-notch security and we take many steps to protect this information. We start by choosing an industry-recognized payment processor who processes all of our financial transactions. Our processor maintains PCI Service Provider Level 1 status in accordance with PCI Data Security Standards v3.2. It also complies with NACHA Rules, which specify that we cannot allow ACH payments to be processed unless they have been authorized by the owner of the bank account.
Crossroads does not store nor transmit any of your payment information through our servers nor store it in our database. Even though you may enter financial information on crossroads.net, we neither store nor transmit any Credit Card or Bank account/routing information. All Card information is processed solely by the aforementioned third party processor. Since we do not store or transmit Card/Bank data, we are not required to hold PCI compliance. However, we value secure systems and have chosen to put security procedures in place to increase the security of crossroads.net and our community member’s data. We work with a PCI Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV) to regularly scan our systems and are made aware of any security vulnerabilities. We welcome suggestions on how we can improve the security of our systems as well as improve the user experience of crossroads.net. Email support@crossroads.net

Stock Transfer

I don’t use a broker. I have my own stock certificates. Can I still donate stock to Crossroads?
There are special forms and procedures involved for transferring paper stock certificates. Please contact the finance department at giving@crossroads.net to start this process or to get more information.

I have a mutual fund. How can I give shares from that?
There are special forms and procedures unique to each mutual fund company. Please contact finance at giving@crossroads.net to discuss the specific procedures for your shares.

I need to better understand how a stock gift affects my taxes.
Crossroads does not provide legal or financial advice. For the details about a specific gift in the context of your unique financial situation, contact your attorney, accountant or financial planner. In general, gifts of appreciated securities held long term are one of the best ways to maximize the value of a gift and minimize the after-tax cost. Donors of appreciated stock receive a tax deduction for the full, fair-market value of the stock on the date of gift and pay no capital gain tax on the appreciation.

I have a loss on some stock and want to sell it. Does it make sense to give it to Crossroads instead?
Crossroads does not provide legal or financial advice. For the details about a specific gift in the context of your unique financial situation, contact your attorney, accountant or financial planner.

What does Crossroads do with the stock?
Crossroads instructs its broker to immediately sell the shares and transfer the proceeds to Crossroads.

Personal Finances

Can you provide me with advice about my giving and finances?
We do not provide investment advice or recommendations. We do offer FreedUp Groups at our sites at various times during the year. Contact generosity@crossroads.net to sign up.

I’m in debt. Should I still help?
We believe that God honors the money we give back to him. We encourage you to try FreedUp to begin a focused plan on getting out of debt. Contact generosity@crossroads.net to learn about FreedUp groups and discounts. At the same time, if you feel God is leading you to start giving, even if it’s a small amount, we believe God honors and blesses this act of obedience and trust.

Have more questions?