Back Bay is the first Southern Baptist church to accept the cash, according to the Baptist Press. It is the first Southern Baptist church to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment for tithes and gifts.
After COVID-19 made it difficult to collect traditional payments, Back Bay Baptist Church in St. Martin declared at the end of September that it would take digital currencies.
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“We stopped passing around an offering basket when COVID hit,” Back Bay Baptist’s Pastor Adam Bennett told WLOX. “We actually have a little basket in the back for the room.”
Bitcoin, Ethereum, US dollars, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Die, and Bitcoin cash are all accepted at the church. Parishioners can gift or invest a sum determined by the church, ranging from “as little as $10 worth” of Litecoin to $100,000 in Ethereum.
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“I talked with a few others in the church who were into crypto, which grew into a discussion about it,” Bennett said. “Then I did some research and found that the Salvation Army accepts it. I looked into their platform and ended up deciding to use a different one for us.”
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Bennett compares it to going to an arcade and trading money for tokens or tickets.
“Adopting these technologies early on, I realize this is not a common thing,” Bennett told Baptist Press. “But I’m of the opinion that in 20 or 30 years, cryptocurrency is going to be a way of life and using the blockchain technology. Hopefully, our church will be leading the way.”
