It’s the time of year when most youth pastor’s are holding their fall parent’s meeting, introducing new parents to how the youth ministry will look, passing out the calendar of events, answering questions, all of that fun stuff.
If you haven’t already held your meeting, I would suggest one piece of advice to you, and that is simply this:
Let the parent’s know up front the Cost for their student for the year.
You most likely have a full calendar ready to go, or at the very least, you have a fall calendar. Most of those should have the prices set, and even though it is most likely true that the prices for all of the event’s are on that calendar, add it up and let the parents know at the beginning of the year.
This will not only help the parents prepare themselves, but it will also help you plan a balanced ministry year. If you take a look at all the events you have planned for this fall, and the total to attend every event is $600, you should probably cut out some of the events.
What I try and shoot for is close to $300 per student for the year (and just because I do that doesn’t mean it’s the only number to shoot for). If it goes above $300 we try and supplement it with youth budget funds, but usually we don’t have to. I have found in my experience that if every other week the students are asking parents for $20 for this event, $10 for this, and then $125 for the retreat, parents don’t like it. Even if that dollar sign is on the calendar. But if you aim for a set price at the beginning of the year and parents know whats coming, they are a lot more willing to add a few bucks to that if something gets added later in the year. Doesn’t mean that they will be willing, just more likely to be.
So this month as you finalize the plans for the school year and get ready for your parent’s info meetings, I would strongly encourage you to come up with the upfront cost for the parents. It takes 3 minutes of work, and will only make it easier in the long run.
