Should We Subsidize Students?

A common challenge we face as youth workers is the decision of whether or not to subsidize an event or trip. The reasons for doing this could include, keeping the cost per student down, allowing more students to come or perhaps paying for a single student that cannot afford to come at all. There are a couple of things we should consider before do so.

What Message are we sending? — Covering the cost of a student or lowering the cost for all students can send two different messages that we should be aware of.

1 — The Church cares about me: Obviously this is the message that we want to get across, that the Church cares so much about you, that its people are willing to give their tithes and resources to funding a student who can not afford it. We want each student to know that the people of our Church love like Christ loves and care for people like He would.

2 — The Church is about me: This is not the message that we want to convey but unfortunately there are many cases where that is what is heard. I know that there are students and families out there that would prefer not to pay because they know that we will cover the costs of their child if they choose not to. What’s worse is that this can become engrained in them at a young age, that the Church is a place you take, regardless of need.

If you are going to cover a student’s cost, make sure ask the questions to find out the true need, explain where the money would be coming from and if necessary, respectfully decline if you feel that they are taking advantage of the situation. Once there is a precedent set, there can be an inherent expectation that the price will be the same year after year.

Does it build the Kingdom?: A fellow Pastor in my area inherited a ministry, which holds an annual ski trip that regularly loses upwards of 40% of their annual budget. He has been wrestling with the reality that this might not be the best use his budget. Nearly everything we do can be argued to be Ministry, but it is important to evaluate if an event is supporting the purpose of your ministry, especially if you are spending large portions of your budget on it.

Can they pay something?: We always see if the student can pay something, not because we are cheap, but because we see value in students being good stewards of their money early in life. If they don’t come on the retreat, odds are they will be doing something with their friends that weekend, we decide with them what that would have cost and ask them to pay that much. Its not punitive, but a good teaching opportunity.

Are there other funding options?: The obvious solution here is to fundraise, which is always the best choice. But besides the obvious, being resourceful within your own church is a good place to start. Depending on the event, most churches will allow Benevolent Fund donations to be used for events to sponsor students. Another great option is to partner with your adult ministries team to find families willing to provide scholarships for students.

Choosing to Subsidize an event or not is a big decision – we want people to come to it, we want students to bring their friend and we want it to be affordable for families but it shouldn’t come at the expense of the Ministry as a whole. But before you subsidize, it is vital that you know what message you are sending to students and parents by doing so.

Geoff Stewart is the Youth Pastor at Peace Portal Alliance Church in Surrey B.C. where he oversees Journey Student Ministries. He is married to Lavonne and they have two cats, Norman and Puff Daddy. Geoff co-authors the Blog morethandodgeball.com Follow him on Twitter @geoffcstewart.