children's ministry on a "child-sized" budget

This is an article I wrote for "Inside North Point Kids". You can read about me writing some articles for that site HERE. And you can read this actual post on that site HERE.

Kendra Fleming (from the leadership team at North Point) asked me long ago about writing some of these articles and it just took me til now to write them!
i warned her that i probably didn't have much good to say. So, i'm just giving my opinions on what has worked for us at Ridge Church.
(I hope I don't hurt their blog readership over at Inside North Point!)

you can join the conversation over there or on this post...

Help! How can we use 252 Basics on a shoestring budget?

Many of the churches that use 252 Basics don’t have a large children’s ministry budget. How can you make Sunday mornings the best hour of every kid’s week when you have no money?

Here are a few practices that have helped us create an awesome environment while on a small budget.

* PLAN AHEAD

If you are only planning one week ahead for each Sunday it is really hard to stay within your budget! Plan ahead and watch how much money you can save!

* A CREATIVE TEAM IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

Bring a team of creative people around you to help you dream and create an amazing children’s ministry. Lead a creative meeting with them for each month/virtue.

In your meeting, think big and then edit! When your team has great ideas constantly ask the question “How can we do this cheaper/for free?”

You also need to surround yourself with talented people who can build, create, and make items for your environment and productions at a fraction of what it would cost to purchase the items!

* CREATE A “PROP” TEAM

We all know that the large group scripts, small group activities, and FX scripts from 252 require a lot of props! Buying all those props each month will quickly put you over budget! So, create a team of people who are willing to lend you these props! Many times people in your church will let you borrow these items for the month for free! (Hint: Moms who have a few children are the BEST for this team!)

Work together with other churches in your area and share props. Learning to share with other churches on the same mission is a beautiful thing!

* RELATIONSHIPS ARE FREE!

Your children’s ministry will never be able to compete with Nickelodeon, XBOX, or a Miley Cyrus concert. They will always have more money than you and be better entertainers than you. BUT, they can never compete with the relationships your team can build with children! Remember that.

Don’t be discouraged that your budget isn’t as big as you would like it to be! Create the greatest environment and production you can with the money that you have. Remember that it is the relationships your team has with your children that God will use to change their lives!

What other practices have you found that allow you to prepare curriculum on a shoestring budget?