eZine 11.04.2008

Who can argue with that?

Well… he spent his entire youth ministry budget by January 17th.

I first met “Chris” about six months prior to that ominous January. He contacted me about speaking at his community outreach event. The event sounded fun: inflatable boxing ring, Bar BQ, a band, t-shirts… he went all out.

Maybe that’s why his budget ran out.

In preparation for the event I asked him how many kids he expected. The number changed each time I talked with him. Once I heard “hundreds,” another time “a thousand.” But as we got closer I could hear the fear in his voice. “I really hope to have at least 200.”

About a month before the event he jacked up the admission price in fear of not making enough. When all was said and done, about 68 kids showed up. I’m not going to criticize an event that brought out 68 kids to hear the Gospel. But when your budget requires over 300 just to break even… “Houston, we have a problem.”

January 18th was a very hard day for poor Chris. “Poor” isn’t a bad choice of words either. He hadn’t even exited January and he was already in the hole a few hundred dollars for the rest of the year. Consequently, he wasn’t able to reimburse some expenses he had put on his credit card (which didn’t put him in good standing with his wife).

“It was all for the sake of the Gospel.” He told me sheepishly.

Was it?

Or was it just bad money management?

A Common Dilemma
Chris isn’t alone. Just last week I met with a senior pastor picking my brain about “what to do” about his youth pastor. “He spends all of his money by March! He always has an excuse. But come April he’s in my office asking me for more.”

I talked with another youth pastor recently who started off the budget year with a huge event that would cost him almost his entire budget.

Every year in January I get the most amounts of people booking me simply because they have the money in January.

Why is this the case? Do many youth workers lack good money management skills? Are churches just cheap when it comes to youth ministry? Do youth leaders just need to learn how to adapt and survive on what they have?

Yes, yes, and yes.

It’s Never Enough
No youth ministry budget seems enough. Think about it. Doesn’t it seem that way with our personal finances?

I remember my wife and I struggling to make bills the first few years we were married. I recently watched a video that my wife shot of me when we were expecting our first child. She was interviewing me and asking me if I was worried about anything. You could see it all over my face?the pressure of being the provider for the family. I told the camera exactly how much I needed to earn to provide for my family. I probably repeated it three times. “If only I could earn…” I figured. If I had that amount of money, we wouldn’t need a thing.

Now I need twice that amount.

What was I thinking back then!

Isn’t it the exact same way with our ministry budgets? As our ministry grows and our budget grows, so do our needs (as well as a few wants).

Sure, some churches are stingy when it comes to youth ministry spending. But I’ve met youth pastors from huge churches who complained to me that their budget just wasn’t enough with an annual youth ministry budget of $500,000 including the salaries of youth interns and secretaries. $100,000 of that was allocated for trips, meetings and expenses during the year. Sound stingy? To those youth workers, it wasn’t enough.

Many youth workers can’t even imagine that kind of budget. Their budget is $3,000 a year… and that includes their salary! (you probably think I’m kidding) The sad fact is, the majority of churches in America have zero youth ministry budget and are run by a volunteer.

I received this email from a youth worker.

“Dear Jonathan- My husband and I are youth leaders at a small, small-town church. We don’t have any type of youth account or budget…and we can’t afford to put our own money into the program…any ideas???? I feel like our kids don’t get to experience anything exciting or fun because of lack of money and most are from families who can’t afford the things we do get to plan?” -Jessica

I think a lot of us can relate to Jessica. Money can feel like a huge barrier. So, what do you do when the budget isn’t enough?

Jonathan McKee, president of The Source for Youth Ministry, is the author of numerous youth ministry books including the brand new 10-Minute Talks, and the award winning books Do They Run When They See You Coming? and Getting Students to Show Up. He speaks and trains at camps, conferences, and events across North America., and provides free resources for youth workers internationally on his website, TheSource4YM.com.

At a recent parent’s seminar, a frustrated grandmother complained that she couldn’t spend quality time with her grandchildren because they were always on their cell phones. She asked for my advice, and when I gave it to her, she was more than a little surprised by what she heard.

The Big Question
An important question on the minds of many parents these days is, “How can I improve my communication with my children?” It can be frustrating trying to carry on conversations with teenagers who consider one syllable grunts an acceptable answer to most questions, or have their faces glued to some sort of screen at the same time, be it a laptop, a 17″ flat screen, or a cell phone. If parents aren’t careful, their requests for dialogue will leave teenagers saying, “TTYL, Mom and Dad” (talk to you later, Mom and Dad).

Today’s parents are raising teenagers in an atmosphere that is too often turbulent. The conversations are difficult enough in and of themselves, but frequently, there is the added strain of poor communication that hinders the dialogue from ever starting. If only parents had a “secret weapon” that would enable them to open up lines of communication with their teens.

They might.

It’s called a cell phone.

Speaking My Language
You’re probably thinking, “But their cell phone is what’s keeping them from talking to me!” Well, maybe we can learn a lesson from several million Sprint customers who’ve mastered the art of transforming their kids’ cell phones from a hindrance-to-communication into a help.

Sprint, one of the country’s largest cellular providers, just released a report that showed a significant increase in the number of text messages sent to children by parents. In 2006, only 13% of adults aged 50-64 were using text messages. Currently, 20% of the same crowd is using text messaging (with 76% of them claiming to use it to connect with their kids). More parents have jumped on the text message band wagon, but why?

Simple. Text messages get answers…and quick! The children of these Sprint customers ? like most teens ? were found to be four times more likely “to respond to a text message within minutes” than to a voicemail, with 91% of them saying they would respond to a text message within an hour.

Even Barack Obama’s campaign gurus recognize the affinity young people have with their cell phones. He’s made it no secret that his campaign strategy, in part, relies on text message communication with supporters, especially the younger ones. Earlier in his campaign, he even promised to reveal his running mate via text message.

Ultimately, the better we understand how kids use their cell phones, the greater chance we have of using them to foster communication.

David R. Smith is the Director of Content Development at TheSource4YM.com, providing truly free resources and ideas that help youth workers reach kids. David speaks and trains around the U.S., sharing the gospel, and equipping others to do the same.