S-T-R-E-T-C-H Your Ministry Dollars

People all across America waited in long lines this past Thursday and Friday to snatch up good deals for Black Friday.  And today, Cyber Monday is in full effect.  The bottom line is that we are looking for great deals to stretch our dollars a little further.

This is nothing new for those of us in Children’s Ministry.  It really doesn’t matter how big or small our churches are…Children’s Ministry leaders want to get the most bang for our limited bucks.

Here are a few tips for stretching your ministry dollars in three of the biggest expense areas:  curriculum, snacks, and crafts.

Curriculum

  • Order enough materials for children who attend 75% of the time, plus 2 or 3 more.
  • Better yet, consider switching over to digital curriculum.  While you will spend time printing and purchasing paper, this will help reduce overall costs for take home pages and in-class activity sheets.
  • Search for free lessons online.  Check out Ministry-to-Children to get started.
  • Invest in reproducible books.

Snacks

  • Have your congregation or parents donate frequently used items, such as napkins/paper towels, cups, crackers and O-shaped cereal.
  • Serve water instead of juice.
  • Buy in bulk from a membership warehouse.
  • Find people who love to bake and ask them to bake cupcakes, cookies, brownies, etc.
  • Purchase generic brand snacks.

Crafts/Craft Supplies

  • Shop end-of-season and post-holiday sales for seasonal items.
  • Alert your church of needed items and allow them the privilege of donating.
  • Shop early enough to avoid rushed or overnight shipping costs.
  • Buy crayons, glue sticks, and scissors before the school year starts (when school supplies are dirt cheap.)
  • Again, reproducible craft books are a good investment.

General Money-Saving Tips

  • Use email, your website and social media for publicity.
  • Swap items with another church.
  • Save money on DVD’s by borrowing them from your local library.
  • Ask professionals in your church to teach their specialty to your children, parents and volunteers.
  • Maintain your resources.  For example, keep caps on craft supplies and properly wrap food.
  • Print your own brochures, handbooks, business cards, flyers, etc.
  • Make black and white copies instead of color.
  • Use white paper instead of colored.
  • When photocopying, use both sides of the paper if you can.
  • Consider using 1/2 sheets of paper to get your message out.  That way, you get 2-for-1 sheet of paper!

How do you stretch your ministry dollars?  Share your ideas below!

Thankful Thursday: Week 4

A few weeks ago, I planned to set aside every Thursday in November to share some of the many things I’m thankful for.  

You can read about Week 1 here, Week 2 here, and Week 3 here.

“Give us today our daily bread.”

Matthew 6:11

As I type these words, the smell of sweet potato pie and pumpkin crisp fresh from the oven is permeating throughout the entire house.  Those are two Thanksgiving traditions that I bless my family with.  That’s what I’m thankful for today…tradition.

Growing up in my household meant that we celebrated everything.  My mom celebrated big events (such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter) as well as smaller events (such as good grades on our report cards, special awards and milestones reached).  Celebrating these special moments are memories that I still hold dear today.  It’s only natural that I passed along these traditions to my own children.

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving today, we will weave years of tradition into our festivities.  Our day began with a big breakfast that I prepare each year–bacon, eggs, breakfast potatoes, toast and juice.  Afterwards, my daughter and I baked 2 sweet potato pies and 2 pumpkin crisps.  Now we are relaxing until we head out to family dinner, which will include lots of laughter, games (and prizes!), good music, fellowship and of course, great food.

A few weeks ago, I read an article by Anne Lamott called “Counting Our Blessings“.  In the article, Lamott shared why she says grace before her meals.  I found the article to be very enlightening because saying grace seems like second nature to me.  It’s not something that I have to think about doing.  My husband and I have raised our children to say grace before their meals.  Whether you’re at the cafeteria table, the food court at the mall or at a friend’s house, we pause to thank the Lord for the food that He has provided for us.

As you gather around the Thanksgiving table today, be sure to pause to thank God for the delicious food you will consume.  Ask Him to not only bless the food but also the hands that prepared it.  Pray for those who are less fortunate than you.  Pray for those struggling with their first Thanksgiving without a loved one.  Ask God to bless the conversation and memories that you’ll share.  Enjoy making new memories while savoring honored traditions.  As a friend mentioned this morning, “Thanksgiving is what comes out of the heart…not the oven.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful Thursday: Week 3

A few weeks ago, I planned to set aside every Thursday in November to share some of the many things I’m thankful for.  You can read about Week 1 here and Week 2 here.

“I have found the one my soul loves.”

Song of Solomon 3:4

This weekend, my husband, Lance, and I will be celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary.  So, this week, I’d like to share with you why I am thankful for my husband.

Lance and I met 19 years ago while we were in college.  He was a junior; I was a freshman.  We were total opposites.  He was from the South; I was from the East Coast.  He was outgoing; I was more reserved.  He was very athletic; I was in the band.  It makes me believe that in some ways, opposites really do attract.

Over the years, our life together has been filled with highs and lows, blessings and heartaches.  Moving to a new state, moving to another state a few months later, children, losing a child, new jobs, losing jobs, death of beloved family members, health challenges, dreaming new dreams, seeing other dreams put on hold.

Despite it all, I would not want to have experienced all of that with anyone else but Lance.  Somehow, no matter what comes our way, life is so much better because I have him in my life.

As the scope of my ministry has expanded and I have taken on more projects, he has supported me every step of the way.  People have always said how awesome it is that Lance and I serve side by side.  (Just for the record, he is not on staff with me at our church.  However, he is my favorite volunteer!)  But side by side is the unspoken motto of our marriage.  We are partners in every sense of the word.

I am thankful for a husband who loves me, provides for me, listens to me, encourages me, challenges me, fights for me.  He is one of the greatest gifts that God has given me and for that, I am truly thankful.

Engage Conference: Workshop Notes

Yesterday, I posted notes from the three main sessions that Sue Miller led at the Engage Conference, which took place this past weekend in Mechanicsburg, PA.  You can read about that here.

Today I wanted to share a little bit about one of the workshops that I attended.  It was fantastic and very hands on!

Instructing Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in Children’s Ministry

This workshop was led by a Messiah College Professor and three of her students.  I took this workshop because I wanted to equip my volunteers to better serve children in our ministry with ASD.  This workshop had two objectives:

  1. Help us classify 3 types of learners
  2. Demonstrate multiple instructional strategies through the use of “make and takes”
When we arrived, there were goodie bags for each participant in the center of each table.

Our schedule for the workshop

The young women began our workshop by defining autism and identifying three (3) types of learners:  auditory, kinesthetic/tactile and visual.  We learned how each learner learns best and strategies to use in helping each type of learner learn.

Auditory learners learn best through verbal input.  One strategy you can try is classroom positioning.  Have the child sit or stand close to the teacher.

Kinesthetic/tactile learners learn best through their body, hands and sense of touch.  One strategy you can try is by bringing in sensory manipulatives.  We made one in class by filling an uninflated balloon with rice and tying off the balloon.  (The balloon and rice were provided for us in our goodie bag.)

Visual learners learn best through written word or pictures.  There are two strategies that you can try:

  1. Use picture cards (laminated on a ring) to flash to the children when you need them to get refocused.  You could also flash a card to let them know what’s coming up without having to say it aloud.  I thought this idea was brilliant.
Reminder cards

2. The “First/Then” strategy shows an expectation followed by something preferred.  “First we’ll…then we’ll…”  Keep in mind that you must follow through with what you say.  Otherwise, this strategy will become ineffective.

First/Then laminated card

The great news is that many strategies shared in this workshop were not only geared toward children with ASD–they could be used for every child!

Have you found a particular strategy that has helped you have success in the classroom?   If so, share here!