Does anyone actually like talking about money in the church? My experience has been that the answer to that question is a lot like Indiana Jones’ reaction to a room full of snakes, “Money. It had to be money.”
For most of us, the mere mention of budget can make our pulse quicken with dread and wonder if there is a way to get around the conversation. Kurt and Josh offered solid advice about asking for a raise and making the youth ministry budget go as far as possible. In tight economic times -- and let’s face it, it always seems that way in the church -- we might be justified in feeling like the miracle of the loaves and the fishes should work on snack bar items and Nerf darts.
Last week Group published their annual salary survey results for youth workers across the country. Don’t worry, they made sure that Kurt “money-bags” Johnston wasn’t included because it would have skewed things a lot higher (Josh, “I’m a little bitter” Griffin wrote that intro). The truth of the matter is most youth workers who are fortunate enough to get paid probably don’t get paid enough. And as a result, at some point you may feel the time has come to ask for a raise. Here are some thoughts on the subject:
Pray
It all starts with prayer. Take your requests to God and ask Him for guidance in what to say and how to prepare. It would be unwise to go into this challenging environment without having talked to God over a significant period of time. Ask Him for contentment no matter what the outcome. And while praying, ask God (...
The economy doesn’t seem to be revovering any time soon – and church budgets are tighter than ever. Here are 6 ideas to help get the most out of every buck your church entrusts to you (if you’re fortunate enough to even have a budget):
Break-even Events – when you plan an event, make out a realistic budget and set a goal for how many students will attend. Some simple division and boom - you have the price point. Now stick to your budget and you won’t have to spend a dime beyond everyone’s admission. Obviously you’ll want to make sure the event is priced fairly, so do your best to balance the “bang for the buck” factor and still break even.
Just how important is social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) to young people? Well, new research has answered that question, revealing that over 50% of young people would give up one of their five senses before they gave up their social network.
Sounds like connecting via tech rules, right?
Actually, no. Believe it or not, the lure of connecting to their friends on glowing screens still comes second to good ol’ fashioned face-to-face communication.
So which medium should we use when connecting with today’s teenagers? Does this have to be an either/or question?
Does anyone actually like talking about money in the church? My experience has been that the answer to that question is a lot like Indiana Jones’ reaction to a room full of snakes, “Money. It had to be money.”
Last week Group published their annual salary survey results for youth workers across the country. Don’t worry, they made sure that Kurt “money-bags” Johnston wasn’t included because it would have skewed things a lot higher (Josh, “I’m a little bitter” Griffin wrote that intro). The truth of the matter is most youth workers who are fortunate enough to get paid probably don’t get paid enough. And as a result, at some point you may feel the time has come to ask for a raise. Here are some thoughts on the subject:
The economy doesn’t seem to be revovering any time soon – and church budgets are tighter than ever. Here are 6 ideas to help get the most out of every buck your church entrusts to you (if you’re fortunate enough to even have a budget):
