3. Youth ministry management tools
My favorite church-management software is Breeze. It’s cheap and easy for any small- to medium-size church. It saves time and money by speeding through administrative tasks. Breeze allows fast data entry, sends email alerts, looks up people fast, organizes and communicates with groups, does check-in and event reports. It’s friendly on desktop, laptop, or mobile devices. It creates forms, Quickbooks and planning center online integration. Plus it imports existing data into the Breeze management system.
4. Expense-report apps
Creating expense reports is a time-consuming pain. So find an app that helps generate them. My favorite is Expensify.
5. fiverr.com
Fiverr is an incredible website! You can pay someone $5 to do basically anything. That’s right. If you need a video, graphic design, voiceover, or any online service, use fiverr.com. *I will admit: Searching the site can be very addictive and time-wasting. So search wisely!
6. Ministry forms
Your youth ministry needs forms and documents. And forms take a long time to create. My ultimate favorite forms resource is developed by The Rocket Company. In the Rocket Company’s System Bundle PLUS, you get seven system resources:
- Docs and Forms—120-plus ready-to-use or ready-to-customize documents.
- Reach—do advertising and outreach right so more people show up.
- Inspire—More volunteers = more ministry.
- Next—Follow up with guests, givers, and new Christians. Don’t just reach people; keep people.
- Why Nobody Reads Your Emails—This practical eBook will help every ministry.
- Know the Numbers—This resource is about building a practical, broke-proof church budget.
- 39 Things Pastors Need to Know About Money—Half of these tips are about church. The other half will help you save thousands. The resource is available only as a part of The Systems Bundle Plus.
Bottom line: These youth ministry management tools will save you time, reduce stress, and grow your student ministry.
7. Curriculum
Outsource your teaching. Creating content from scratch takes forever. Trust me; I work for a curriculum publisher. You don’t need to spend a majority of your time writing sermons. In fact, Adam McLane says it best in We Do Our Own Thing.
Doing your own thing takes lots of time. For example, XP3 Students gives you large-group scripts/outlines and small-group questions. It also provides social-media plans for students and parents, group and parent resources, an experiential activity, and loads of graphic support. Using curriculum saves you lots of time and makes you look like a rock star.
8. Free budgeting software
Most youth pastors are horrible at managing money. The best way to manage money is by creating solid budgets. If you oversee a youth ministry at a church, then you probably oversee a budget. Here are six free budgeting online software tools you can use right now. Don’t stress about creating and maintaining budgets. Instead, use online youth ministry tools to help you.
Now that I’ve shared my favorite youth ministry management tools for youth pastors, please share yours! What youth ministry attendance tracking and online resources help you save time?
