Budget Blues:

One hindrance that can discourage people from helping with Sunday School or Children’s Ministry is what I call “Budget Blues.” Budget blues can be a variety of problems stemming from church and individual budgets.

At the time I was heading up Children’s Church, our household budget was extremely tight, and I couldn’t afford to consistently purchase craft and/or other supplies for our classes. However, I loved doing children’s ministry.

Also, I was working full-time and couldn’t get to the craft store before it closed. Between the financial and time challenges it was difficult for me to get the needed supplies, and those put in place to purchase them for the department never seemed to get them for me on time.

At this time our church policy was for the worker to purchase the supplies themselves and have the church reimburse them. For those with money, it worked out fine. But for financially-strapped workers–it was a pain!

Another challenge was the fact that our church treasurer, who volunteered his time, only came to his office on Mondays during the hours I worked at my job. It was hard to catch up with him and get reimbursed.

Between the above three “Budget Blues” I became greatly discouraged and hoped something could be done to ease the situation.

I understand that churches need policies and procedures to keep workers accountable for their purchases, and those workers need to stay within certain budgets. However, be aware that certain financial and time challenges can discourage workers from helping.