Retreat boxes

Have prepacked, permanent “Retreat Boxes” using catalog cases for trips and retreats:

• Song books and bibles.

• Games and travel items: small balls, like Koosh and hacky sacks, Frisbee; Mad Libs; travel games; first aid kit; A board game or two; balloons; string or twine.

• Supplies: paper (sn assortment of types with the backs of discarded office paper usually is fine for letter sized); pens/pencils enough for a maximum sized group; paper clips, rubber bands; variety of markers, crayons; ruler; calculator.

First Aid

Have a major first-aid kit with you always.

• Only give the most basic of first-aid (band-aid level).  Anything else take to the emergency room, unless you are a doctor or nurse.  We are not trained to diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries.

• Do not dispense anything, even aspirin without the explicit consent of parents.  Like the hospitals, get the parent on the phone.  There are too many odd reactions to medications, too many families with different views of medications in general and certain ones in particular.  The youth may not have a clear picture of what is acceptable and what is not.

Budgeting

Good financial practices are essential for a healthy youth ministry.

• Budget carefully, regardless of what the church organization requires.  You don't want to spend money at the first of the year for something optional only to not have money for something essential later in the year.

• Avoid the common practice of spending everything left in your budget at the end of the year.  This makes financial types crazy and is questionable theologically.

Profit and Loss Accounting systems

Beware of the accounting practice used in some churches of having income completely separated from expenses on a “profit and loss” financial report.  This makes it look like you are spending a lot more of the church's money than is actually the case.  A proper ”Not For Profit” or “funds” accounting system (as opposed to a standard business accounting system) will allow for income and expenses to be booked against a single line item, giving a net.  Most major accounting packages can be set up as a “Not For Profit” system.

Number of line items

Have just enough line items needed for control without having line items that are rarely used.

Reserved or restricted accounts

Insist on having some “reserved” (“holding,” “restricted”) accounts.
One or more may be needed for holding special gifts until they are needed.  Others may be needed for multi-year projects or projects that span fiscal years (such as a fund for buying a new van).  Others are good for tracking income and expenses for specific events like a Mission Trip.

Financial good sense

Recognize that Church Officer type people view youth workers as flakes with no financial sense at all.  Prove them wrong by being meticulous.

Credit cards

Have a church credit card specifically for youth ministry or at least the educational ministry. 

• Using a personal credit card means that people will see your personal expenses as well as the church's. 

• Have the church's accounting system set the credit card up as a credit card account (sometimes simply called an asset account).  There is a mechanism for handling credit cards in most accounting packages.  This allows expenses and payments to be asynchronous and you don't get hit with finance charges because someone didn't get a voucher in on time. These accounts reconcile just like a checking account.

• The credit card statement is a clear record of expenses, and easily posted to the correct line items.

How many adults on a trip?

There are a lot of little issues to keep in mind when it comes to the health and safety of the youth, but what could be a more important topic to keep in mind?

1. On a trip or outing, have a minimum of three adults, no matter how many youth there are: If an adult breaks a leg there is one to take that person to the hospital and one to stay with the youth.
   

Medical releases

Send Medical releases and Photo releases to the parents of every youth at the beginning of the school year when they are having to fill out these things for school, also.

• Make it clear that these are good for the whole year and will save them time and trouble to get them in now.
  
• You might guarantee that only those who must see them will see them.
  

Medical releases

It is important to obtain medication brands the youth are on. Parents are often hesitant to give this information. One common issue is when the kid is on “birth control pills.” Youths need hormone treatments for a wide range of reasons including acne. But if a youth has to go to an emergency room, the doctors need the brand name of all medications (not a generic designation like “birth control pill” or “antihistamine”) in order to avoid interactions.

Medical releases and emergency rooms

Recognize that emergency rooms are not interested in “medical releases.” They want to talk to a parent directly. Only if the parents are unavailable and the kid is about to die will they rely on the medical release. These things are just formalities.