Thought this article from Luke Trouten on youth ministry events was fantastic – it goes into practical detail about planning and preparing a big event. Some really great stuff here – read the little bit I’ve stolen here, head there for the whole piece. Awesome!

It’s still the second biggest taboo in Youth Ministry after salary, but ministry budgets are really important to talk about even though discussing them make people squirm. I wrote a few months back about a better way of talking about budgets with other pastors by comparing budget on a per student basis. But a pattern that I have noticed in my ministry, and I have seen in others as well, is that an increase in budget can result in a decrease in diligence of good stewardship.

To give a little context to this, 2 years ago our youth ministry had a budget of 8% of what it was in 2001. There were similar amounts of students and leaders and 75% less paid staff. In the time between now and then was a period where the group shrunk and the budget did accordingly. I will never complain about the finite budget had because it taught me a few things:

Tight budgets breed creativity: There is a great book called $5 Youth Ministry and for many youth pastors that is the name of the game. Getting creative, shopping on craigslist, building a home made catapult pumpkin launcher; this is the stuff that the memories are made of. Not having a lot of money to spend creates environment where collaboration and brainstorming happen, where students and leaders can use their gifts in ways that buying a solution might now allow.

Tight budgets promote stewardship: I can remember vividly, 3 years in a row, where I was a volunteer in my early 20’s and not paying for a youth trip because I knew that if I dragged my feet long enough that the Church would just pay for it or forget about it. Not the lesson we want to teaching leaders and students. Following up with all students and leaders to make sure they pay is a great teachable moment around stewardship, commitment and integrity. Lets face it, it is also a great teachable moment for ourselves to learn to be thorough in planning and executing events.

Big budgets can breed wastefulness: As we have transitioned from a season of very tight budgeting to one where there has been an increase, I have noticed a decrease in my urgency to return things that I didn’t need, to buy more, or to buy frivolous things. It’s easy when there is a little more to spend, coupled with the attitude that I have to spend all of my budget if I want to get it back, that can cause purchases and events based solely on the reasoning of “why not?”.

I often need to remind myself that I am spending our congregant’s tithes that they have entrusted to me to spend for the furthering of the Kingdom. Having a small youth budget is not a death sentence, in fact it’s really a formative experience to work within one.  Learning to use your budget wisely will allow for your effectiveness to grow proportionately with your budget.

Geoff Stewart is the Pastor of Jr & Sr High School for Journey Student Ministries at Peace Portal Alliance Church and regularly contributes GUEST POSTS to MTDB. Be sure to check out his Twitter stream for awesome ministry goodness. Want to get in on the fun and write up a guest post yourself? See how right here.

A few weeks back I was sitting down with the director of Youth Ministry at the college I am going to be teaching at and he was telling me that Duffy Robbins himself was going to be coming in October to do a one week intensive course which amounts to much of the content that him and Doug Fields teach in their speaking to teenagers series.

I couldn’t believe it, Duffy is coming to the college, for a week in a class of only forty students, to which I replied what most people would ask, “can I sit in on the class?” I mean after all, this is a tremendous opportunity to hear from a great mind in YM and I ask a lot of questions so this is going to be great. He said of course I could attend, and I asked could I invite some of my youth pastor friends from the area to which he replied with something I did not expect.

He replied by basically saying that he had offered in the past and none would come because many Youth Pastors are only interested in professional development if it means traveling to a conference on the Church’s budget. I’ll be honest, I don’t completely disagree, I recently went to a training event that advertised $5 for youth leader training, and it that cost included all course materials, a thumb drive, a keychain and a speaker flown into town. I packed up our team and got there to find a total attendance 30 people in the auditorium of a church that held 1200. The event was well advertised and lots of calls were made, but no one showed up.

The brightest people I know in the youth ministry world are the ones that read the most, and take every opportunity to learn more and if we are serious about growing as leaders its starts with saying I don’t know it all. There is so much quality training out there, take advantage of it.

Geoff Stewart is the Pastor of Jr & Sr High School for Journey Student Ministries at Peace Portal Alliance Church and regularly contributes GUEST POSTS to MTDB. Be sure to check out his Twitter stream for awesome ministry goodness. Want to get in on the fun and write up a guest post yourself? See how right here.

Stop asking how much my youth budget is.

When I was in Chicago for SYMC Josh and I were chatting about budgets over steaks and a blue cheese wedge (which I had never seen or heard of until then) and we were batting around the complexity of budgeting and the fact that there its really tough to compare one church to another. But it never surprises me how the question of “how much is your youth budget?” is never far away when talking among Youth Pastors. My Church is mid-sized (2,000 people) but many of the Churches around us are smaller and talking about youth budgeting can become an apples and oranges conversation unless you crunch the numbers down to a comparable figure.

I have learned that when we talk about your budget is to never talk about the total, because unless you have the exact same size ministry, the numbers won’t really matter. Its much easier to have these conversations when you calculate dollars per active student. I would suggest that contrary to what Mark Devries (Sustainable Youth Ministry) argues, that a figure that excludes your salary is better because, salaries can be very different; even regionally, and in a single Youth Pastor setting that difference can skew the figures. And lets face it, it also keeps us from doing a head count at each others youth group and trying to crunch the numbers to figure out what each other make.

When I polled the Youth Ministries in my area, my other Youth Pastor friends were shocked when my quick survey revealed that their budgeting had between $110 and $175 per student per year and me at the “big church” was $48. It is really easy to be jealous when you hear what some youth ministries have for budget because you hear the total number, but the reality is that when you do the math its probably not nearly as rosy as you think.

So I guess what I am getting at is, if you want to have a great conversation with other youth pastors about money, maybe ask them how much they budget per student.  Asking this way will result in less discouragement and allow for discussion of vision, value and purpose instead of, WHOA!, they give you how much?!?!?!

Geoff Stewart is the Pastor of Jr & Sr High School for Journey Student Ministries at Peace Portal Alliance Church and regularly contributes GUEST POSTS to MTDB. Be sure to check out his Twitter stream for awesome ministry goodness. Want to get in on the fun and write up a guest post yourself? See how right here.

Few words are as exciting and frightful to me as these two: mission trip. On the one hand, I’ll be leading a group to serve Christ in an exciting new place. But on the other, how are we going to get there? And worst of all, how are we possibly going to raise all that money?

After experiencing this feeling for several years, I learned about Razoo. Razoo is a tool that helps churches and non-profits raise money online. I believe Razoo is a complete game-changer for mission trip fundraising. Since I joined the Razoo team, here are five tips that I’ve shared with many that will help you reach your fundraising goals faster and easier:

1. Keep everyone on the same page.
To get to your destination, you’ll need to stay organized. Razoo makes it easy by providing an online headquarters for you and your team. On your page, you can set your financial goal and departure date. And you can keep track of each person’s progress.

2. Kiss stamps goodbye!
You never need to send another letter again. Ask your supporters to visit your mission trip page on Razoo instead. Think of it as your online prayer letter. Your friends and family can find out all about your trip, watch a video, post a comment, and even donate.

3. Never send a tax-deductible receipt.
Sounds crazy, right? Here’s how it works: Razoo ensures that each of your supporters receives a tax-deductible receipt. As the trip leader, you can download a full donation report. Now you can spend less time in the office and more time with people.

4. Turn thank you notes into thank you videos.
Writing thank you notes can be an elusive skill. Razoo enables you to upload a customized thank you video instead. Now, when your supporters give, they can see the smile on your face.

5. Take all of your supporters with you.
Many of your friends and family members wish that they could go with you on your trip. Help them feel included by adding updates to your page or posting videos from your destination – even while you’re there!

Justin Wredberg works on the Razoo team and gets to see how it is already making a difference for youth group mission trip fundraising. Check out Harbor of Hope as an example of a church that is on its way to reaching its mission trip goals through this innovative tool. To learn more, contact Razoo at missions@razoo.com or call (866) 437-1952. They would love to hear from you!

I’m not in ministry.  I no longer work with today’s youth (I used to).  In fact, I don’t even have any kids!  So what insight could I possible offer to youth workers?  A lot actually! I’m a professional money manager.  I am managing millions of dollars in various portfolios for clients all over the country.  It is stressful, it is rewarding, and it is also my calling.  I love what I do.

I hear the same thing from youth workers, too.  That is, they love what they do….except for one thing:  raising money for support!  In fact, I once heard a youth worker say he’d rather try to milk a wild bull than ask people for money!  However, if you follow a few easy steps and make it part of your daily routine, it can be not only very rewarding, but very gratifying too!  And you probably won’t get kicked by a bull in the process.

Would you rather be a salesman or would you rather just talk to a friend?  I’d rather just talk to a friend.  That’s really what it all boils down to…talking to your friends.

In today’s technology filled world, you can talk to your friends in hundreds of ways.  In my practice, I use e-mail, newsletters, thank you cards, phone calls, text messaging, snail mail, and I’m probably leaving a few out.  When I reach out to my clients, do I ever ask for money?  Absolutely Not!!  Do my clients send money in for me to manage?  You bet!  How is this done?  Talking to people like they’re friends.

Here are 5 simple rules to follow whenever you talk to people who may be able to support you:

1. Talk to them like a friend by showing them you care.  I know you care about them.  That’s one of the main reasons you went into ministry.  Be sincere.  Be genuine.  Call them on their birthdays.  Take an interest in their lives and their family.  Simply put – show them God’s love.
2. Tell them about what you’re doing in your career.  Do not ask them for support.  That’s right…do not ask them.  People (for the most part) are intelligent.  They know you need financial assistance.  Tell them about how you’re trying to go to Africa, or whatever it is you want to do.  Use the word “trying.”  Tell them that you need their prayers.  Leave it at that.
3. Ask them for their address.  This is important.  Why?  So you can send them a newsletter!  At least once a month, hand-address an envelope in your own handwriting with a nicely written update (mass produced newsletter is okay) on what you’re doing in your ministry.  They will enjoy reading it and you will politely be keeping your name in front of them.
4. Tell them about how you’re winning in the fight for Jesus.  Everyone wants to be on a winning team.  Tell people in your newsletter what your accomplishments have been and what your goals are for the rest of the year.  They will want to join your team.
5. Follow-Up!!! Josh knows that these are my 2 favorite words.  If someone expresses the slightest interest in assisting you financially, call them!  Don’t text them…too impersonal.  Call your “friend” and see if the interest is sincere.  If so….follow up!  Collect phone numbers, addresses, build an e-mail list.  Don’t ever say, “if you want to know what I’m doing, just visit my web page or see my facebook.”  That is VERY impersonal, and besides, you’re violating rule #1 (above)!  Don’t drop the ball here.  This step is critical.  Put it on your calendar.  Write it down.  Make sure you follow up, and don’t miss.

There are a few other things you could do, but most of them revolve around the above 5 steps.  Show people you care.  Send them a “thank you” when they do support you.  Make it as personal and sincere as possible.  If you simply treat others the way you would want to be treated, the financial support will come.  Just be consistent.

Oh, and if you know of someone who needs a great financial professional to assist them with their retirement, please send me their e-mail address.  I promise you, I’ll follow up!

Rob Vollmer was a long-time volunteer in the High School Ministry at Saddleback Church. He now works for First Allied Securities and can be contacted at rvollmer@msn.com.

Yesterday, Josh talked about The 3 Best Gifts a Senior Pastor Can Give Their Youth Pastor. But what about youth pastors? What are the 3 best gifts we could give back? For me, it would NOT be an iPad since my pastor probably would not know what to use it for …

After reading the post from yesterday, I realized that the 3 best gifts I could give my pastor were similar to what Josh blogged about. It’s also important to understand that when we choose to give these gifts, we ultimately benefit:

TRUST
Just as I desire to be given ownership to lead the student ministry effectively, it’s important to realize that I have been called by God to lead students, not the whole church. The gift of trust can be given when I learn to effectively “lead up” and support the vision and direction of my senior pastor. It’s more likely that I will be given greater ownership and trust when I lead with trust.

LOYALTY
Loyalty equals longevity for both of us. Just as I need faithful support to hang in for the long haul, I can’t forget that my pastor needs support as well. When he knows I’ve got his back, he’s more likely to have mine. My loyal support of my pastor can lead to greater longevity for both of us. After all, to a good degree, he is my meal ticket.

BE A GOOD STEWARD
Want a good budget? Be a good steward… I have found that a good budget comes with trust that ministry dollars are being used effectively and diligently. With this comes a good communication for needs that exist as well as continuous vision casting for the student ministry.

Over the long haul I have found that when I give these gifts, I often receive so much more back, which ultimately is a win for my ministry and for my family. Even if we are in situations where the gifts are not reciprocated, it’s imperative that we choose to be gift givers…

What’s another great gift you could give your Senior Pastor?

Phil Bell is the Pastor of High School and College Ministries at Community Bible Church. He Twitters and Tumblrs.

I was asked by a friend recently what three gifts any youth pastor would want from their senior pastor. First of all, I thought, “Huh, I just had Christmas and a birthday and I didn’t get ANYTHING from Pastor Rick.” Then I remembered I didn’t get him anything either, or have any idea when his birthday even was in the first place. Yikes.

After that little rabbit trail, I thought about how good of a question it was, and that I should blog about my responses and ask you to weigh in as well. If my senior pastor could give me 3 things (and it wasn’t something like an iPad, because I’d gladly take that, too) I would want these:

TRUST
More than anything else, I want to be given the leadership of the ministry. I want to be trusted with the vision and decisions of the ministry. I want a senior pastor who believes in me and trusts me to follow God’s Spirit and his/her leadership in accomplishing that vision.

LOYALTY
Loyalty equals longevity. If you want me to stay in the trenches for the long run, stick with me. I’ll probably need your defense (hey, I’m a youth worker) and covet your partnership and friendship in the heat of the spiritual battle. A quick way to run a youth pastor out of town is to be disloyal.

BUDGET
I hesitate to put this one out there on the list – but it is a HUGE gift to be well-taken care of as a pastor/family and a HUGE gift to have money for scholarships and programming. I put it last for a reason, but also included it for a reason, too. Take care of your people and they will take care of your people.

My hope is that you as a youth worker read this, nod your head and add another “gift” in the comments. That way, when your senior pastor Googles their way to this post, they’ll have lots of ideas and put one or two of them into practice.

What is another amazing gift a senior pastor can give their youth worker?

JG

Let’s say you have a budget, which is awesome alone. But it gets cut. Where do you look to make the first cutbacks of these poll options?

JG

Spending your own money as a youth workers is part of the gig. How much do you spend on students/youth ministry a month?

JG