A few months ago we went through the process of setting our budget for the upcoming ministry year. Like many budgets these days, there were across the board cuts in all ministry areas. So how does a small church with a small budget do ministry in todays context. How can we continue to do the ministry God has called us to do, with smaller budget.
Here are my ideas, what are yours?
– Invite parents to sign up to bring food for your events. Parents can be your biggest resource.
– Our youth is hosting a church wide event this month. In the past I would have had the youth budget take the hit and provide the food, this year…Italian themed church potluck. Get more people involved.
– In house retreats – The funds to under-write expense for a fall or spring retreat are not there, so instead we are doing it at the church for the weekend.
– We mine the resources within the church. I’m sure through the network of the people within our churches we can find some awesome opportunities.
– Have more meetings at the church instead of out for coffees or lunch. This is a hard one for me because I like meeting people and picking up the tab for meeting, especially lunch. The point isn’t the food or coffee, it’s about the person we are meeting with. (go for a hike, run, bike ride, meet at a park with people)
So how have you found creative ways to save money on your budget? I would love to learn from you and better leverage our budget for this coming year.