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Thesis: Does Tithly Share Christian, Pro‑Life Values?

Tith.ly is a great example of when a company, owned by seemingly sincere, smart Christians take a secular path in business. You’ll see a pattern of service or partnerships with organizations that support abortion, LGBTQ rights, same-sex marriage and transgenderism.

When churches and ministries select a giving platform, they are making more than a technology decision—they are making a stewardship decision. Every dollar of transaction fees flows somewhere, and every corporate partnership sends a signal about shared values. This report examines Tithe.ly, one of the largest church‑tech platforms in the world, to determine whether the company shares the explicitly Christian, pro‑life values that many churches hold dear. Below, we trace Tithe.ly’s ownership and leadership, its corporate culture, its denominational partnerships, the non-Christian and progressive organizations that use its platform, and its positions—or lack thereof—on abortion, LGBTQ issues, transgender ideology, and DEI. We then present Pro‑Life Payments as the Christian Pro-Life alternative to Tithly for ministries that want every swipe to fund the Kingdom.

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Tithe.ly’s Partnership with the ELCA—A Pro‑Abortion, LGBTQ‑Affirming Denomination

One of Tithe.ly’s most significant institutional relationships is its status as a preferred vendor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a partnership that has been in place since March 2018. Under this agreement, ELCA congregations receive over 25% off standard Tithe.ly processing fees, and the partnership is actively promoted across ELCA synods nationwide—from the Greater Milwaukee Synod to the South Carolina Synod and beyond.

The ELCA is not a theologically neutral denomination. Its positions on the very issues this report investigates are well documented and deeply at odds with traditional Christian teaching:

On abortion: The ELCA’s 1991 Social Statement on Abortion explicitly holds that abortion “must be legal and accessible”. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton publicly stated that “any ruling similar to the leaked draft will upend 50 years of legal precedent in our nation and damage the health and well-being of many.” The ELCA opposes “legislation that would outlaw abortion in all circumstances” and opposes “laws that deny access to safe and affordable services for morally justifiable abortions.” In practice, the denomination’s health plan has covered elective abortions, a fact that triggered controversy even among some ELCA members. As the ELCA’s own Director for Gender Justice wrote, “If I had become pregnant another time, I would have had an abortion because there were too many social factors missing or left unsupported for a healthy and flourishing family.”

On LGBTQ ordination and same‑sex marriage: In (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_America), the ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted 559–451 to allow congregations to ordain gays and lesbians in committed relationships. Since 2009, blessings of same‑sex marriages have been permitted denomination‑wide. Guy Erwin became the first openly gay male bishop in 2013. Katrina D. Foster became the first woman and openly gay person to serve as bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod in May 2025.

On transgender clergy: The ELCA ordained its first transgender pastor in 2015. In 2021, the denomination installed Megan Rohrer, a non‑binary pastor using “they/them” pronouns, as a bishop in California. The 2025 Churchwide Assembly adopted an edited Human Sexuality statement by a vote of 724–46 to formally update language “in light of public acceptance of marriage of same-gender and gender-non-conforming couples.”

On reproductive justice and DEI: The ELCA’s 2019 social statement, Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call to Action, formally integrates “reproductive justice” language, opposes “any effort to roll back” reproductive healthcare delivery, and explicitly frames gender justice, racial justice, and LGBTQ inclusion as interconnected goals. ELCA coaching ministries use Tithe.ly giving links to fund what they describe as “intentional equity and justice work” around race relations.

The sheer scale of this partnership means that thousands of ELCA congregations across America are processing their tithes, offerings, and fundraising through Tithe.ly—and those funds are sustaining a denomination that actively supports abortion access, LGBTQ ordination, transgender clergy, and progressive social justice.

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Tithe.ly’s Partnership with the RCA—A Denomination in LGBTQ Turmoil

Tithe.ly is also the preferred vendor for online giving for the Reformed Church in America (RCA), one of the oldest Protestant denominations in the United States. The RCA has been embroiled in internal conflict over LGBTQ issues for decades. While a 2016 General Synod affirmed that marriage is “between a man and a woman,” the denomination has no denomination‑wide policy on LGBTQ issues, allowing individual classes (regional groups) to set their own policies on human sexuality.

In practice, this means the RCA includes classes that affirm and celebrate same‑sex marriages alongside those that oppose them. In 2021, conservative congregations began a mass exodus from the RCA to form the Alliance of Reformed Churches. In February 2025, 33 ministers from the Christian Reformed Church who broke with their denomination over its opposition to LGBTQ inclusion were absorbed into the RCA—specifically because the RCA’s local governance model allowed classes to be “open and affirming.” This ongoing LGBTQ split makes the RCA a denomination in active theological flux on the very issues this report investigates, yet Tithe.ly maintains its partnership without any apparent concern about the direction things are heading.

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Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Universal Rainbow Faith—An LGBTQIA+ and Transgender “Church” Powered by Tithe.ly

Perhaps the most striking example of how Tithe.ly’s value‑neutral approach plays out in practice is its use by Universal Rainbow Faith (URF). URF describes itself as an “LGBTQIA+ affirming church” and a “global spiritual movement rooted in radical inclusivity.” It was founded by Reverend Paula Sadler, a transgender minister, and held its inaugural service on March 31, 2025—which was Transgender Day of Visibility.

URF’s Donations & Tithes page uses Tithe.ly as its giving infrastructure and states it is “reaching out to the entire LGBTQIA+ community” for contributions. The page solicits donations for a “Trans Empowerment Fund” to “support trans‑owned businesses and homes” and “fund educational and spiritual training programs.”

The organization’s About Us page explicitly opposes the biblical teaching that God created humans male and female, stating: “It has been declared that there are two sexes Male & Female, and a movement to get rid of the Transgendered people. My friends and family—we are not INSANE.” URF’s founding minister describes the movement as responding to “a modern‑day genocide and forced conversion” against transgender people.

During its inaugural YouTube service, Reverend Sadler proclaimed URF’s vision as “a world where every expression of identity, love, and truth is honored as sacred” and stated the movement exists to “restore and elevate the sacred traditions, histories, and divine rights of queer, trans, and gender-expansive people that have been erased or suppressed throughout time.”

This is not a peripheral example. Tithe.ly’s giving infrastructure is being embedded on a website that collects tithes for a transgender ministry that explicitly rejects the Genesis account of male and female, celebrates Transgender Day of Visibility as its founding holiday, and solicits funds for a “Trans Empowerment Fund.” At no point has Tithe.ly signaled any discomfort with this use of its platform—because its platform has no doctrinal screening whatsoever.

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Tithe.ly and Abortion—A Corporate Silence That Speaks Volumes

Tithe.ly has published no corporate statement on abortion, either supporting it or opposing it. The company’s About page, its Partners page, and its extensive blog library contain no reference to the sanctity of life, no mention of supporting pregnancy centers, and no pledge that transaction fees will not flow to abortion‑supporting institutions.

Meanwhile, the company’s most prominent institutional partner—the ELCA—has taken the position that abortion “must be legal and accessible” and has an entire academic and policy apparatus devoted to advancing what it calls “reproductive justice.” ELCA congregations using Tithe.ly to process giving are simultaneously sustaining a denomination whose official stance is that pregnant persons should have moral agency to decide on abortion and that laws should guarantee access to abortion services.

Tithe.ly’s platform also serves churches whose pastors and writers urge voters to “look beyond just abortion in the election”, framing abortion as one issue among many rather than as a non‑negotiable moral boundary.

For pro‑life churches seeking assurance that their giving platform is not entangled with abortion advocacy—even indirectly through denominational partnerships—Tithe.ly provides no such assurance. There is no revenue‑sharing arrangement with pregnancy centers, no public pledge to avoid partnerships with pro‑abortion institutions, and no statement affirming the sanctity of life at any point in the company’s public communications.

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Tithe.ly and LGBTQ Issues—Platform Neutrality Enabling Affirmation

Tithe.ly maintains no public LGBTQ policy. There is no Pride campaign, no “affirming” badge, and no anti‑discrimination policy visible on its corporate site. But the absence of a stated position does not mean the absence of impact.

As documented above, Tithe.ly is the preferred vendor for the ELCA, which has ordained openly gay and lesbian clergy since 2009, blessed same‑sex marriages since 2009, and updated its Human Sexuality statement in 2025 by a vote of 724–46 to affirm the acceptance of same‑gender and gender‑non‑conforming marriage. Tithe.ly processes giving for these congregations without restriction.

Tithe.ly is the preferred vendor for the RCA, whose internal governance allows individual classes to celebrate same-sex marriages and which has recently absorbed CRC ministers who broke away specifically to support LGBTQ inclusion.

And Tithe.ly is the giving platform for Universal Rainbow Faith, an organization whose entire founding purpose is the spiritual affirmation and empowerment of the LGBTQIA+ community, and which uses Tithe.ly to collect tithes dedicated to LGBTQ advocacy.

Social media posts from LGBTQ Christians also show Tithe.ly giving links circulated by churches celebrating same‑sex marriages and embracing transgender members. No Tithe.ly terms of service or acceptable use policy screens for theological content on sexuality.

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Tithe.ly and Transgender Ideology—No Guardrails

Tithe.ly has published no corporate statement on transgender ideology, gender identity, or the biblical teaching on male and female. It has no visible content filter that would prevent organizations promoting gender transition from using its platform.

In practice, this means organizations like Universal Rainbow Faith—which was launched on Transgender Day of Visibility, is led by a transgender minister, operates a Trans Empowerment Fund, and explicitly opposes the belief that there are two sexes—can embed Tithe.ly donation tools on their website without restriction.

The ELCA partnership reinforces this pattern. The denomination ordained its first transgender pastor in 2015 and installed a non‑binary bishop using “they/them” pronouns. The ELCA’s journal has published articles arguing that “transgender men become pregnant, as do persons who are non-binary” and that the church’s language about abortion should be updated to reflect this. These congregations process their giving through Tithe.ly.

For churches that hold to the scriptural teaching that “male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27), Tithe.ly’s total silence on gender ideology—combined with its active partnership with denominations and organizations that reject that teaching—should raise serious questions about values alignment.

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Tithe.ly and DEI—Quiet Promotion Through Content and Partnerships

While Tithe.ly does not maintain a standalone DEI manifesto, its content ecosystem and partnerships consistently affirm diversity, equity, and inclusion frameworks.

On its own blog, Tithe.ly published “7 Christian Companies That Inspire Us Now”, which praised Tyson Foods for being named the second‑best Fortune 100 company on the “Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Index.” By highlighting a DEI index ranking as aspirational for Christian companies, Tithe.ly implicitly endorsed DEI metrics as a positive standard for faith‑based businesses to pursue.

In a Tithe.ly TV episode, co‑founders Dean Sweetman and Frank Barry hosted Kadi Cole, author of Developing Female Leaders, for a conversation that framed diversity ratios of 30–40% as a benchmark churches should work toward. Cole discussed how “America went through a huge racial reconciliation space which kind of brings topics of diversity and bias to the forefront” and spoke favorably about using these conversations to reshape church leadership teams. The Tithe.ly blog’s introduction to the episode framed inclusive culture, gender equity, and empowering female leaders without theological qualifications as values to be embraced.

Additionally, Tithe.ly’s partnership with the ELCA connects its brand to a denomination whose coaching ministry uses Tithe.ly giving links to fund “intentional equity and justice work” related to race, gender, and inclusion—language that maps directly onto corporate DEI frameworks.

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Christian Alternatives to Tithly: The “Tithe Empire”—Revenue Model Over Values

An investigative feature in ARC Magazine titled “Tithe Empire” provides a detailed look at Tithe.ly’s corporate culture and the Modern Church Leader Conference it sponsors. The article describes Dean Sweetman as “equal parts TED‑talk disrupter and sanctimonious prayer leader” who told conference attendees, “A church is a ninety-minute-per-week business. You’ve got one chance to take that money and pay the bills.”

The article notes that the conference featured exhibitors including Godly Money, a portfolio service “for those shunning investments that might support abortion rights or the LGBT agenda,” alongside culture‑war preachers like Pastor John Amanchukwu, a fiery opponent of critical race theory. But these were conference attractions—not reflections of Tithe.ly’s corporate policy. The company itself maintains studied neutrality, profiting from conservative churches and progressive denominations alike.

Sweetman’s history of blogging about “Biblical capitalism” and his teaching that 10% should be the “floor” for tithing (with 50% being “preferable”) reflects a revenue‑optimization philosophy that prioritizes growth and market share over theological gatekeeping. The Modern Church Leader Conference is positioned as an industry event for church administrators, not as a confessional gathering. This is the posture of a company that views churches as customers, not as a mission field.

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Acquisitions That Expanded Tithe.ly’s Non‑Denominational Reach

Tithe.ly’s rapid acquisition spree has further insulated it from any single theological tradition. The 2018 merger with Elvanto, an Australian church management company, expanded Tithe.ly to over 8,500 churches in 45 countries. The 2021 acquisition of Breeze brought another wave of churches onto the platform. Additional acquisitions of ChurchLink and Ascend added further layers.

Each acquisition brought customers from diverse theological backgrounds—Assemblies of God, Salvation Army, Saddleback Church, mainline Protestant congregations, and independent charismatic churches. This business model is designed for maximum market penetration. It is not designed for values alignment. When a company acquires four competitors in rapid succession and absorbs their customer bases, it necessarily inherits a theological spectrum that no single doctrinal commitment could unify.

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Why Pro‑Life Churches Need a Different Approach

The evidence gathered in this report points to a clear pattern: Tithe.ly is a technology company that brands itself as Christian but operates without any doctrinal, ethical, or theological filter on the organizations it serves. Its platform is used by churches that preach against abortion—and by denominations that call abortion a matter of “reproductive justice.” Its tools collect tithes for evangelical congregations—and for a transgender ministry that rejects the Genesis account of male and female. Its blog praises DEI metrics—while its conference features culture‑war preachers who oppose critical race theory.

This is not hypocrisy. It is neutrality by design. Tithe.ly has chosen a business model that maximizes its addressable market by refusing to take sides. For a tech company, this may be a rational business decision. But for a church or ministry that believes abortion is the taking of innocent life, that marriage is between one man and one woman, and that God created humans male and female—that neutrality is not harmless. It means your transaction fees are flowing to a company that equally welcomes organizations working to advance the very positions your church opposes.

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Pro‑Life Payments and Pro‑Life Prosper—The Explicit Alternative

For churches and ministries that refuse to accept values neutrality from their giving platform, Pro‑Life Payments exists as the Christian alternative to Tithly. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Pro‑Life Payments is not a neutral platform. It is the for‑profit arm of the pro‑life movement, built to turn every financial transaction into pro‑life funding.

15% of Revenue to Pro‑Life Causes: Pro‑Life Payments donates 15% of its gross revenue—which it calls its “first fruits,” citing Exodus 23:19—to pro‑life organizations, pregnancy resource centers, and life‑affirming ministries. This is not a marketing pledge. It is the structural DNA of the company.

Pro‑Life Prosper, the company’s donation management platform, offers the same functional categories churches seek from Tithe.ly: customizable donation forms, donor portals, donation analytics, recurring giving, ACH processing, credit card processing, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and the ability for donors to cover processing fees so 100% of every gift reaches the ministry.

Values Screening: Unlike Tithe.ly, Pro‑Life Payments does not process transactions for organizations that support abortion, LGBTQ ideology, or causes that contradict biblical teaching. Your fees will never subsidize a platform that simultaneously serves a transgender “church” or an abortion‑supporting denomination.

Complete Payment Solutions: Beyond giving and donations, Pro‑Life Payments provides e‑commerce payment processing, omni‑channel solutions, retail and restaurant point‑of‑sale systems, mobile card readers, and ACH payments—all with free equipment and POS rentals, month‑to‑month contracts with no early termination fees, and fast funding with next‑day or same‑day deposits.

Banking Partnership: Pro‑Life Payments partners with Regent Bank and other Christian financial institutions, ensuring that “every dollar processed supports the sanctity of life and the Christian community.”

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Who Owns and Runs Tithe.ly?

Tithe.ly was founded in 2013 by Dean Sweetman, an Australian‑born pastor who spent more than 30 years in full‑time ministry before pivoting to church technology. Sweetman served for years as a pastor within the Australia‑based C3 Church Global movement, planting churches across Asia, Africa, and North America. In 1996, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and founded C3 Church Atlanta, growing the congregation to over 2,500 members. In 2014, Sweetman stepped down from full‑time pastoral ministry to pursue what would become Tithe.ly full‑time.

Frank Barry is the Co‑Founder, COO, and CMO. Barry, a former youth pastor of five years, spent nearly 15 years at Blackbaud, a major nonprofit technology company, where he held roles from consultant to Director of Business Development for Global Payments. He joined Tithe.ly’s founding team as an angel investor and board member in 2015 and became COO/CMO in 2018. Barry holds a BS in Computer Science and Engineering from San Diego State University.

The broader C‑suite and executive team includes Chris Phillips (Chief Financial Officer), Brad McGinity (Chief Revenue Officer), Steve Klein (Founder and Board Member), and Ben Sinclair (Executive Vice President of Product, who joined when Tithe.ly acquired Elvanto in 2018). Jon VerLee, the founder of Breeze Church Management Software, also entered the leadership orbit when Tithe.ly acquired Breeze in 2021.

As of its 2019 Series F funding round, which raised $15.2 million, Tithe.ly was valued at $113.8 million. The company claims to serve more than 37,000 churches in over 50 countries and has aggressively consolidated the church‑tech market through acquisitions of Elvanto, ChurchLink, Ascend, and Breeze.

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: Dean Sweetman’s C3 Church Background

Understanding the values of Tithe.ly’s CEO requires understanding the movement that shaped him. C3 Church Global is a Pentecostal megachurch network founded in Australia by Phil and Chris Pringle. The network has more than 500 churches in 64 countries and has been the subject of sustained scrutiny for financial practices and theological controversies.

An investigative report by Patch documented C3’s pattern of aggressive tithing demands, noting that “more than one pastor has been charged with fraud” and that the network is “notorious for asking for large donations from their members so their senior staff can live in the lifestyles to which they have become accustomed.” A 2005 report by Business Review Weekly estimated C3 was earning approximately $100 million per year, and described many C3 ministers as having “made themselves multi‑millionaires.”

Dean Sweetman’s direct involvement in these controversies has been documented. A C3 Church Watch investigation detailed how Sweetman provided oversight to C3 Asheville pastor Nick Dimitris, who faced a $1.1 million judgment from the FDIC and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. According to the report, “two other New York C3 pastors both came in to evaluate the situation and recommend that Dimitris be removed,” but “Sweetman continues to stand with Nick Dimitris when hundreds of reputable people have had no other choice other than to walk away.” The Asheville congregation shrank from 250 to roughly 35 members.

On LGBTQ issues, C3 Church Global’s official website states that “marriage was instituted by God, ratified by Jesus, and is exclusively between a man and a woman” and that “sex is a gift from God for procreation and unity, and it is only appropriate within and designed for marriage.” However, as Fashion Magazine documented, C3 churches frequently obscure these policies behind intentionally vague messaging, using phrases like “our only stance is on Jesus” while privately telling LGBTQ members that same‑sex relationships are sinful and barring them from leadership. A C3 policy document obtainable through internal channels states that 3 percent of tithes go to an organization that preaches “homosexuality is a sin caused by the lack of honour and thankful worship to God.”

The relevant question for this report: Does the C3 movement’s conservative doctrinal position on sexuality carry over into the company its former pastor built? As the evidence below shows, the answer is decisively no. Tithe.ly operates as a value-neutral platform that serves organizations across the theological spectrum—including those that directly oppose C3’s own stated beliefs.

Christian Alternatives to Tithly: The Stewardship Question Every Church Must Answer

The question at the heart of this report is not whether Tithe.ly makes good software. It does. The question is whether good software is enough when the company making it is equally willing to serve a pro‑life church and a transgender ministry, an evangelical congregation and a denomination that calls abortion “reproductive justice.”

For churches that believe stewardship extends to every dollar—including the fees embedded in every transaction—the answer is clear. A Christian alternative to Tithly exists, and it doesn’t just process your payments. It turns them into a funding engine for life.