The

Search for Home Ministries

Handbook:

Here at The Search For Home Ministries we are invested in

youth and in creating life long followers of Christ. We are
striving to create deep relationships with God while having fun
and digging into the Word of God. This earth is not our Home
and we are searching for our true Home in Jesus Christ. We are
striving to stay in his presence and transform ourselves to his
will.
Throughout the year we will be focusing on these points laid
out by Andy Stanley:

The Seven Checkpoints
1.Authentic Faith
2.Spiritual Discipline
3.Moral Boundaries
4.Healthy Friendships
5.Wise Choices
6.Ultimate Authority
7.Others First

Table of Contents:

Who we are..pg 1
Down the Hall Events

Multi-generational Projectpg 3-4

How to Train Leaderspg 4-8

Environments Project...pg 8-9

Tradition Project..pg 9-10

Missions Project ...pg 10-12
Budget Breakdown.pg 13-16
About Mepg 17

Multigenerational Project
What: Mother daughter Banquet

Who: All Mothers and daughters are invited, Men of all ages
needed as volunteers to serve.

When: The Saturday of Mothers day weekend every year

Where: The church dining area

Why: To show appreciation for our mothers and all the hard
work they did in raising us, also to promote respect and love
between the generations of the church and bonding between
the male volunteers of all ages. The men will be serving the
women to show them appreciation and respect. The volunteers
of all ages will be able to bridge the generational gap by
working alongside each other to serve the women.

How:
A few months before the womens board and the youth
group of the church will begin planning and can
incorporate the youth group female leaders in
brainstorming.
Create a budget and stick to it
All the money from the ticket purchases will go to helping
the support kids for missions trips and summer trips
with the youth group.
Create a theme and some form of entertainment for after
the meal
Plan a menu and figure out the cost per plate and how
many people will be attending

Have a volunteer sign up sheet for all of the men in the

church; many will be the men of the families in
attendance at the banquet.
Week before- make sure all supplies needed is there and
decorate the church dining area
Day of- make sure all food is prepared and the volunteers
understand what to do, they will be serving the women
the food and drinks as well as helping prepare and tear
down day of.
Afterwards send the photos taken at the door of each
family of mother and daughters.

John Hills How to Train Your Leaders:

Section:
After recruiting youth ministry volunteers, there is a necessity
of training those volunteers effectively in understanding the
vision of your ministry and also coordinate volunteers in
reaching this vision as a team. Our Student Ministry Vision is to
develop life-long disciples of Jesus. To see this vision
accomplished a staff cannot do the work of ministry alone,
there is a need for student ministry volunteers to be an
incarnational picture Jesus for our students now. Training
student ministry volunteers requires effort in both of these
areas: Communicating the Vision and Reaching the Vision.
Our Student Ministry will communicate our vision in 2 ways:
Volunteer Meetings, and Written Formats.
Communicating the Vision:
Volunteer Meetings: For Volunteers, there will be a weekly
meeting that will take place before students arrive. All
Wednesday Night volunteers will be expected to attend this
meeting. The meeting will be held by a student ministry staff
member and will cover 4 major areas: Celebration, Weekly
Ministry Skill, Tonights Schedule, Prayer for Students.

1) Celebration: The Meeting will open with volunteers

sharing a few stories of how God had been working in
their students live the week before. (These stories could
come from small group times, personal conversations,
baptisms, new steps in faith, etc.) As team we need to
always take a moment to Celebrate and thank God for
what He has done and will continue to do.
2) Weekly Ministry Skill: There are certain parts of student
ministry that life doesnt always prepare us for. Some
examples include: What do we do if two students start a
fight? How do we lead a student to Jesus? How do we report
suspicions of abuse? These are all very real things that
take place. So this time will address one key Ministry
Skill in how to handle situations like this effectively.
With each teaching, there will be a handout given and will
be available under the volunteer section of our website.
3) Tonights Schedule: In this section of the meeting, we
would cover what tonights lesson would look like and
also assigning volunteers their positions during worship
service. Volunteer Positions will be designated as: Check-
in Team, Door Team, and Welcome Team.
- Check-in Team: While manning the check-in table,
this team will be responsible for checking in all
students entering worship service. They also will be
responsible for registering any first time guests.
- Door Team: This team will be in charge of opening
doors into the sanctuary when worship begins and also
will man the doors during worship to keep students
inside the sactuary during worship service.

- Welcome Team: This team will be focused on helping

students feel welcomed and to stir up excitement
before the worship service by running games with
students and also having conversations. This position
will be intended to help new students feel welcomed
and get other students energized for worship.

4) Prayer: Lastly we will lift up any prayer requests for any
of ours students together as a team, and also pray for one
another in how we reflect the purpose and personality of
Jesus.
Application:
Reaching the Vision:
In each program, assignment and format of communicating our
vision they are only valuable if volunteers attempt to be
incarnational or become flesh with our students. To be
incarnational in student ministry is to be a servant to those
that Christ has given you; To be among them, and to be present
in their lives not only on church campus but outside as well.
Any person can be present at a youth ministry worship service
or event. Any person can sit down a small group of Middle
Schoolers, or play games with students before worship but if
there is no vision or relationship, students will not become life-
long disciples of Jesus.
So this leads to our volunteer expectations which we believe
will facilitate this kid of incarnational youth ministry:
Wednesday Night Volunteer Schedule:
- 5:45 PM: Volunteer Meeting
- 6:00 PM: Students Arrive
- 6:30 PM: Worship Service
- 7:30 PM: Students Go Home.

Wednesday Volunteer Expectations:

1) Comply With All Student Safety Rules.
2) Represent Christ in Volunteer and Personal Setting.
3) Intentionally Disciple Our Students.
4) Show Up on Time.
5) Attend Wednesday Night Volunteer Meeting.
6) Attend Student Ministry Special Events.
Sunday Morning Volunteer Schedule:
- 9:15 AM: Students and Leaders Arrive
- 9:30 AM: Small Groups Begin
- 10:30 AM: Small Group Time Ends
Sunday Morning Volunteer Expectations:
1) Comply With All Student Safety Rules.
2) Represent Christ in Volunteer and Personal Setting.
3) Intentionally Disciple Our Students.
4) Show Up on Time.
Meaningful Friendships: Using Matthew 18 in Resolving
Youth Ministry Conflict
Conflict at Youth Group can come in many shapes and sizes for
various reasons. Thankfully Jesus gave the church a specific
format to follow in resolving conflict within the church. Youre
role as volunteer will be to point students to what Jesus teaches
about resolving conflicts with one another.
If a student at Elevate approaches you wishing to resolve a
conflict with another student, this is the format we should
follow:
Matthew 18:15 If your brother or sister sins, go and point out
their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you
have won them over.

If there is a conflict between two Christians, the first step is to

address the issue among the two of them one on one.
At Elevate: If not done already, encourage the student to
discuss the conflict with one another and attempt to resolve it
like the verse suggests.
Matthew 18:16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others
along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony
of two or three witnesses.
If the one causing the conflict doesnt listen, then the one who
has been sinned against is supposed to return with another
Christian to discuss the issue.
At Elevate: At this point if the student has not been willing to
resolve the issue, then you and another volunteer should have
a conversation separately with the students involved in order
to resolve the conflict.
Matthew 18:17a If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the
church;
If the one causing the issue still will not be willing to resolve
the conflict, then Jesus instruction is to allow the church to get
involved.
At Elevate: If the students are still unwilling to resolve any
issues then volunteers should find a staff member to help with
discipline or resolving the issue.

Kristens Environment Project
What: Random Monthly Outings For Students
Who: Students and Volunteers
When: Special Event Night of Each Month
Where: Random sights around the city
Why: To promote closeness and a family-like atmosphere
beyond the church within the group
How:

 Take a consensus of some of the things the

students/volunteers are interested in and research these
events
Compare the desired outings with the allowed budget to
decide which outings are feasible
Announce each new outing at the outing currently
attending/each week at youth group in the
announcements (i.e. Januarys event will be announced in
December)
Use the strength of your volunteer team to help you plan
and coordinate each event and gather necessary supplies
o Getting bus, snacks, venue, event, waivers/parent
forms, etc.
Week of:
o Confirm with kids/parents/volunteers
o Confirm with venue if necessary
o Have final deposits turned in for event if necessary
Day of:
o Get keys to van if needed
o Prepare snacks if needed
o Have kids/parents sign waivers
o Go have a great time!

Camilles Tradition Project for the Environments Project.
What: Easter Sonrise Service Fundraiser Breakfast
Who: The student leadership team will organize the other
youth and adult helpers
When: Every Easter Sunday after Sonrise Service
Where: The church kitchen and dining area

Why: To encourage leadership skills in those in charge,

develop camaraderie in everyone involved, raise money for the
Mission Trip, and serve the people of our congregation.
How:
In January, approach specific students to form a group of
five to lead the group. Let them know that they must
recruit and organize both adult and teen volunteers and
get supplies for a bacon and pancakes breakfast.
February: Have a brief meeting with the leadership and
make certain that they have sign-ups set out for
volunteers and supplies.
March: Have the student leaders designate a drop-off time
for supplies, make a plan to remind volunteers of their
responsibility, and make a plan for a speedy and efficient
breakfast service.
Week of: Double check with the students that the supplies
have been received and that all volunteers have been
reminded.
Day off: Be there to oversee everything while still letting
the kids take the reigns.

Ashtons Mission Trip Project :
What: We will be partnering with CIY Engage: The World to
serve the community and people of Tegucigalpa, Honduras
through VBS projects, clothing distributions, work projects,
food distributions, visiting children in hospitals and
encouraging local churches. We will also have opportunities to
share about how God has worked in our own lives and be
exposed to another culture.

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Who: Our High Schoolers and Adult Leaders will be working

alongside missionaries Felipe and Valerie Colby to serve the
people of Tegucigalpa
When: The 2015 Mission Trip will be July 05- July 12
Where: We will be going to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. We will
stay at His Eyes campus, which is the optometry clinic that the
Colbys helped start. The campus is gated and there are
separate rooms for boys and girls and are all equipped with
bunk-beds and adjoining bathrooms.
Why: We want to equip students to be devoted life-long
disciples of Christ therefore during this trip students and our
adult leaders can be trained to engage people as they follow
Jesus by serving the peoples of Tegucigalpa needs as well as
sharing their own spiritual journey with those they meet.
How:
September: 1st Announcement of Trip: Applications
handed out
October: Multiple Announcements made: Interest
Meeting- Discuss finances for trip ($2000 per
person),discuss what money goes toward: airfare,
lodging, food, engage t-shirt, taxes, work project
materials, etc., discuss timeline - Early Interest
Application Due
November: All Applications due at the beginning of
November (on application everyone must have up to date
Tetanus, Hepatitis A&B and Typhoid shots). 1st Group
meeting with all students and parents and adult
volunteers: Discuss support raising letters, discuss rough
itinerary of trip, discuss expectations of the trip, discuss
expectations of students while on trip, have students

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come up with ways they would like to raise money as a

group as well as individually
December-April: Group Financial Raising Activities (One a
Month), A bible study every other week to prepare
students spiritually, Monthly Mission meetings to make
sure everyone is on the same page
December: Serve The Church Meal: Mission Trippers will
sell tickets for $5 a plate, students will serve attendees a
Honduran meal of rice and beans, entertainment will be
provided (a student band), Youth Minister will share with
the church about the Mission Trip to Honduras including
what they will be doing as well as the financial goal,
students will share testimonies and what this trip means
to them, an offering will be collected
January: Bake Sale
February: Student Service Auction: students will use their
abilities to help the community as well as raise money; for
example, Little Johnny likes working in the Yard so he is
auctioned off to help someone in their yard- pulling
weeds, mowing, planting flowers. Another example- Jill
loves children so she is auctioned off to babysit for a night
March: Sunday Youth Takeover Service: a full student
worship bad, a student speaker, sharing of testimonies,
share with the church the purpose of the takeover
(Honduras trip), offering collected for trip
April: Car Wash at beginning of month; all money and
forms due by April 26
May: Continued Monthly meetings & bible studies;
June: team bonding weekend: stay at church, prepare
mentally and spiritually through a weekend of team
building exercises,
July: Go on trip!

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Budget Breakdown:
All credit goes to the Wesleyan Church for the budget samples:
https://www.wesleyan.org/713/youth-ministry-101-budget
Finance

Retreat Budget
Quantity

Cost

Projected

Actual

Projected

sample
Actual

Projected

Actual

Expenses
Brochure printing

$65

$65 $

Postage

$50

$50 $

T-shirts

125

$8

$1,000 $

Student camp fees

100

$49

$4,900 $

Bus rental

$200

$400 $

Bus mileage

$100

$100 $

Speaker

$450

$450 $

Late vehicle

$120

$120 $

Fuel

$150

$150 $

Band

$800

$800 $

Truck rental

$200

$200 $

Equipment rental

$225

$225 $

Supplies/props

$300

$300 $

Dinner

$250

$250 $

Program staff

$59

$472 $

Staff expense

10

$49

$490 $

$9,972 $

TOTAL EXPENSES

Revenue (not including student fees)

Program budget

$1,000

$1,000 $

Staff payment

$25

$200 $

$1,200 $

REVENUE
Total expenses

$9,972 $

Minus total revenue

$1,200 $

Equals NET COST

$8,772 $

Student fees
$8,772

Net cost (same as total student fees)

100

Divided by Number of students attending

$

Cost per student

87.72
Projected

Revenue

$1,200

Plus total student fees

$8,772

Actual

$9,972
Minus total expenses
NET (+\-)

$9,972
$0

[Church Name]
[Contact Name and Phone #]

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Finance

Monthly Expense Report

Monthly Expense Report Sample

June 30, 1999

Fiscal Year 1999

Acc. #

Category

1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006

Staff Dev.
Operations
Materials
Transportation
Food
Misc.

Budget

$125
$200
$150
$20
$100
$75

Total expenses

$670

Year-todate actual

Over /
under

Aug.

$100
$60
$50
$$250
$75

$25
$140
$100
$20
$(150)
$-

$10

$535

$135

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

$10

$10
$10

$10

$10
$25

$50

$25
$25
$50

$25

$75

April

May

June

$35

$25
$25

$70

$25

$10

$60

$75
$25

$75

$100

$25

$-

$25

$25

$25

[Church Name]
[Contact Name and Phone #]

July

$25

$25

$60

March

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$-

Finance

Budget & Monthly Report Sample

Accounts

Category

Budget

Year-todate actual

Over /
under

Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.

May Jun.

Jul.

Income
Church support
Conations
Fundraisers
Other income

$10,000.00
$2,000.00
$1,500.00
$600.00

Total income

$14,100.00

Administration
Advertisement
Books and materials
Dues &
subscriptions
Facilities
Finance charges
Fundraising
expenses
Gifts
Insurance
Mailings
Office expenses
Payroll
Postage
Transportation
Travel
Miscellaneous

$150.00
$75.00
$250.00
$25.00

Expense

$2,500.00
$15.00
$98.00
$200.00
$250.00
$350.00
$125.00
$8,000.00
$150.00
$455.00
$209.00

Total expenses

$12,852.00

Net income

$1,248.00

(income - expenses = net income)

15

Finance

Trip Budget
sample
Cedar Pines High School Retreat May 14, 2002
Lodging
Price of room per night
Divided bynumber of people per room
Equalsprice per person
Multiplied bynumber of nights

$85.95
4
$21.49
x
3
=
/

Per-person lodging cost

$64.49

Transportation
Transportation package
Price of round trip to event
$400.00
/
13

Divided bynumber of participants

=
Vehicle rental and gas

Per-person cost with package

$30.75
Use only one calculation:
Per-person cost with package

OR
Per-person cost with vehicle rental and gas
Miles were traveling
Miles per gallon in rental vehicle
Total gallons needed=
Multiplied by average price per gallon
Total gas cost=
Plustotal vehicle rental cost=
Total of gas and rental=
Divided bynumber of riders

850
3
66
x $ 1.75
$115.50
$250.00
$365.50
/
13
=

Food
Number of breakfasts per person
Multiplied byaverage price for breakfast
Total for breakfasts (A)
Number of lunches per person
Multiplied byaverage price for lunch
Total for lunches (B)
Number of dinners per person
Multiplied byaverage price for dinner
Total for dinners (C)

3
x $ 4.00
$ 12.00
4
x $ 6.00
$ 24.00
4
x $ 8.00
$ 32.00

(A)
Plus (B)

$ 12.00
+ $ 24.00

Plus (C)

+ $ 32.00
=

Per-person cost with vehicle

rental and gas

Per-person cost for

lodging
Per-person cost for travel
Per-person cost for all
meals

$ 28.12

$ 64.46
$ 28.12
$ 68.00

Total per-person $160.50

cost for trip
[Church Name]
[Contact Name and Phone #]

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About Me:


My name is Hannah Couch I am currently a Senior at
Johnson University. I am in the Youth Ministry Degree Program
and Love working with kids. I have worked for the past two
summers at a Camp in Seattle Washington called SAMBICA.
Through working with this camp I decided to become a Youth
ministry Major and dedicate my life in ministry to working
with youth. The camp environment is where I thrive most
when working with youth. I am currently engaged to a
wonderful God-loving man named Abe. I will be graduating in
December and getting married in the spring of 2016. I am very
excited to see where God is taking me and I can't wait to start
my life after college and being involved with Churches and
Camps. My goal is to work in camps and share the word of God
with youth through the experience of Camp.

Contact: Hannah.Couch@johnsonu.edu

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