Creative Programming

There’s something to be said about having a limited budget. Necessity is known as the mother of invention … especially when Necessity is trying to stretch a buck!

Starting a youth ministry, or any kind of non-profit, can be daunting, particularly when the funding has yet to fall in place. We started Starfish Learning Center in 1997 and, as our student numbers grew, revenue did not respond in kind. So, in order to provide art projects, games, and prizes for the children, we stepped outside the box and inside super-cheap stores.

With a handful of small donations and scraped-together coins that amounted to just a few dollars sometimes, we bought activities and incentives for the kids. Plastic paint sets, coloring books, a yard-stick of gum for 50 cents, a bag of clown clickers and rings for a buck. We developed a series of still-popular games with one 59 cent bag of balloons. With markers, we mapped out a board game on the floor tiles and duct tapped pieces of foam board to create two over-sized dice. Our students became the pieces in an original, interactive board game!

It doesn’t take much to impact young people. Oftentimes, the simplest activities are the ones about which they reminisce most. For example, one dangerously hot summer day, we inflated a giant kiddie pool that we’d picked up at a discount chain, and filled it with ice water. Fourteen of our students enjoyed popsicles while submerged, and played the utterly made up game “Splish Splash Math” in the backyard, staying cool, and creating an unforgettably fun, budget-friendly learning experience.

Another stand-out cheapo activity can be described in two words: Super Box. It started with a simple chair order; we were replacing Starfish’s metal folding chairs with sturdier, cushioned ones. The chairs were delivered in several enormous cardboard boxes, which our visionary staff quickly formed into a network of tunnels for youthful exploration. The students flipped over Super Box, racing through the maze on hands and knees to beat each other’s times, and trying to escape clouds of fart spray introduced thru one of the “sun roof” hatches. The kids raved about it for weeks after it was dismantled. Simple cardboard boxes! For that era of Starfish student, Super Box remains legendary.

When it comes to youth activities, think simple and consider going back to the basics for inspiration: marbles, bingo, hopscotch, jump rope, singing songs. Sometimes just going for a walk, baking cookies, or sitting down to color with kids becomes an awesome, bonding time. Children, like most people, often just want to be heard, so listening is a good skill to cultivate if you aspire to youth ministry.

Impacting youth does not require big budgets and endless costly activities, and a meager budget need not limit creativity. A little goes a long way, so put your thinking cap on and see where your imagination will take you.

[www.starfishchicago.com]