1. TxtSignal.com: $30/month

With a couple of my youth group kids burning through 18,000 text messages in one month each (yes, seriously!), it almost seems remiss not to use it to communicate with teens. I use TxtSignal.com to send announcements and last-minute reminders, cancel events, send daily devotional thoughts, run contests, share prayer requests, and get quick feedback about a question or idea, and more. It’s definitely our #1 most effective tool for communicating with teens in our ministry. Although the TxtSignal.com plan I use runs $30/month, you can get plans as cheap as $10/month with a 30-day FREE trial.

2. Youth group website: $15/month

In my youth ministry, our website is the #2 most effective tool we have for mass communicating news and announcements. Although there are places to get free websites (like WordPress.com), I opted to purchase a web hosting plan and build it myself so we could more flexibility in how we use it. Check out the tutorial I wrote about how to build an interactive youth group website for more on what the site entails and how you can build one, too. Of course, you could always check out my own website service at MinistryWebsites.biz and help support the ongoing work here at Life In Student Ministry.

3. Covenant Eyes: $8/month

I have Covenant Eyes installed on every computer in my house. It logs every web page I visit and sends a weekly email report to a couple people for accountability. As a guy in ministry, it is absolutely imperative that I protect my integrity. In case an accusation is ever made, I have reports on record. Definitely worth the $8/month! Use promo code “youthministry” to get the first 30 days free!

4. Volunteer appreciation gifts: varies

Without adult youth workers, there would be no youth ministry. They serve in so many ways, giving up so much of their time, energy and resources, and they absolutely must be thanked. Occasional gifts and thank-you cards can never repay all that they give to teens and the ministry, but it’s better than nothing. In my ministry’s youth budget, I seem to always overspend the “Volunteer appreciation” line item, and they are totally worth it.

5. Animoto.com: $30/year

If you saw the Christmas greeting video from me and Dana, you’ve seen a sample of what Animoto.com does. It takes your digital pictures from your latest youth event, lets you add some titles and music, and spits out a video that is entertaining and very professional. It’s a great way to share memories with the congregation and preserve the experience for kids online. An unlimited pass for the site costs $30/year, but 30-second clips are free if that’s sufficient for you. Sign up at Animoto.com.

My dream for providing content and online community for youth workers is growing like crazy! It honestly is gets a bit frustrating to have all these ideas from the Lord while having no budget to pull it all off. Sure, I could litter this site with advertising and product reviews that often aren’t really worth your money; I could create a members area and charge for “premium” access; I could even just ask for financial donations. But all of those options are directly opposed to why I make youth ministry resources available for free in the first place, or they suck up what little time I have and leave no time for working on the projects they’re supposed to fund.

What kind of projects do I have in mind? Without revealing too much too quickly, how about a free missions trip this winter with your students and many other youth groups all over the country? (Yes, that’s right, a free missions trip sponsored by ministries like Dare 2 Share, YouthBytes and Xtreme Youth Alliance! Your kids will not pay a dime.) Two other big ideas are still in early development stages and one is in queue to be released within a couple weeks.

So, I’m excited to launch MinistryWebsites.biz, a small business that provides state-of-the-art websites to ministries using one of the most cutting-edge and user-friendly management systems I have ever seen. Seriously, this commercial system makes it so easy and simple to create and manage a slick website that your grandmother could figure it out in less than 5 minutes.

My hope is that this side-project will generate enough income to support all the youth ministry projects here at Life In Student Ministry and allow my time to be focused on development instead of fund raising.

If your ministry wants to establish a web presence for communication, MinistryWebsites.biz is the perfect solution. Check out the features, the free web designs, and the pricing. While you’re there, sign up for a FREE 3-page website.

P.S. If you’re a professional web designer or a php/mysql programmer and are willing to donate some time toward these upcoming youth ministry projects, please contact me. I need your help!