Episode 234: Kids' Ministry on a Budget with Melanie Ringle

Big budget or no budget — what matters is how you steward it. In this episode, Hannah Augustine sits down with Melanie Ringle, a 10+ year KidMin veteran and self-proclaimed "thrifting" expert, to talk about stewarding your kids' ministry budget with creativity and intention.

Melanie shares her top strategies for planning ahead, building a team of deal-hunters, and getting maximum mileage out of every dollar. Don't miss this practical and encouraging episode!

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Transcript

Hannah Augustine (00:00) Whether you're at a mega church or a small country church, you probably have at least this in common with other kids' ministry leaders: you don't have a lot of budget. I've worked in multiple church environments, and no matter how large or small they may be, the budget's never limitless. Today we're talking with Melanie Ringle about how to successfully run a kids' ministry, even if you're on a tight budget.

I'm Hannah Augustine, and personally, I'm a big fan of trying to live frugally and within my means. My mama taught me to save and steward things well. One time — I was very proud of this — I made an eyeshadow pencil last months longer. You could have thrown it away, but I used a bobby pin to dig out the pencil and then use it on my eyes. So just saying, you can be frugal, whether it's your personal finances or the church's finances. There are ways to save money.

And I firmly believe that kids' ministry leaders are called to steward their church's finances. That money is someone's tithe, which we'll dive into a little bit later, but we want to use it wisely. My friend Melanie is great at finding deals and maximizing dollars. I've actually told her she needs a podcast or a blog just on this topic, and that's why I thought she'd be perfect for today's conversation.

Now, this podcast is also going to be featured for our KidzMatter PRO members. The month of July, we're talking about innovation and how to grow your ministry in fresh and new ways, so we'll have some bonus content at the end of today's episode. If you want to hear it, visit kidzmatter.com/pro and get your free trial to check out the rest of today's episode.

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Melanie, I am so glad we were able to connect. Last summer we're right at a year of long-distance friendship, through KidzMatter PRO and now you're a KidMin Academy student. It has been such a blessing to know and call you friend. You've been in kids' ministry for more than ten years, and you've gotten great at maximizing your budget. I want to talk about that — but tell us a little bit about your kids' ministry experience, and maybe a fun fact about you and who you are.

Melanie Ringle: (03:23) Hannah, thank you so much for having me. Yes, thrifting is my life — I love it so much, and I love that I can do it for kids' ministry and ministry in general. I've been in ministry over ten years, which is just crazy to think about. I jokingly say that even though it's my job, I grew up in children's ministry with my mom, watching her work side by side with my kids' minister. So it's been in my blood and in my heart and my passion.

Fun fact: the shirt is thrifted. Probably 90% of what you see around me has been thrifted, and that's a benefit not just for me personally, but for the ministry — you can find some good things if you just know what you're looking for. I'm very excited to be here. Thank you for having me. And yes, our friendship — this is our year anniversary, so let's celebrate.

Hannah Augustine (04:36) One of my favorite memories with you is from our last retreat. If you came to our KidzMatter retreat, we did an after-party in the hotel lobby. Melanie and two of her friends, Stephanie — shout out to you — and Laura, came and we played board games in the lobby for an hour, hour and a half. I brought — so I'm thrifty when it comes to food as well — random chips from the flight, leftover chips from lunch, little mini cookies. I bring that to the lobby thinking I have this contribution, and I come downstairs, and Melanie has a bag this big with actual quality snacks. So I just kind of put my little pile to the side.

Melanie Ringle: (05:24) Listen, that's the difference between driving and flying. Okay, that's the difference. Let's not discredit it.

Hannah Augustine (05:28) Fair, fair, I will give you that. And today's outfit is actually thrifted as well. I absolutely love thrifting. My husband and I are currently big on estate sales — there are a ton in our area. I don't mean that in a sad way, because it does mean someone has passed —

Melanie Ringle: (05:35) Or downsizing.

Hannah Augustine (05:48) Yeah, that's true. We went to one a couple months ago that was downsizing — they were moving to a new area, so instead of doing a garage sale, they opened it up. We have found some incredible things. I got this phone holder thing, random, for about three dollars. I got a leather bag for travel, for my laptop, for fifteen. It's crazy what you can find. Now, you have to be careful, because sometimes you get things you don't need just because they're cheap.

Melanie Ringle: (05:58) Yes. That's yeah.

Hannah Augustine (06:18) That's the danger side of thrifting. That could be part two.

Melanie Ringle: (06:21) That might be a whole other podcast — How Not to Hoard in Ministry.

Hannah Augustine (06:28) We're going to start with question number one: why do you think stewarding budget matters, especially in ministry?

Melanie Ringle: (06:37) That is such a good question. Similar to what you said about knowing that people are giving money — that's not something we want to take lightly. People are giving their offering, and that's something they expected to go to the kingdom and kingdom work. So flat out, it's biblical.

It's biblical to do this in your ministry — to be good stewards with the talents you've been entrusted with is one version of it. To care for everything God has provided us is the other reason. If you look back at Genesis, from the beginning, God had this perfect plan of Adam and Eve taking care of everything — that's what stewardship is. It's taking care of God's creation, whether that's through the talents you have, the talents of your flock in your ministry, or the resources you're using. Resources come in all shapes and sizes — from curriculum to a random prize a kid gets for a birthday. All of that falls under how God has entrusted us to steward His ministry and better His kingdom. So it's biblical, plain and simple.

Hannah Augustine (08:03) I love that tie-in to Adam and Eve — that reminder they were told to go and care for the animals, care for the plants, care for the world. We are called to care for hearts and for people, and, like you said, to steward the volunteers in our ministry.

When I started at Christ Fellowship, one of the executive pastors got up and gave us all a little plastic — I think it was a drachma, an Israeli coin — and told the story of the widow who gave everything she had. He said, remember, when you are spending money, when you are spending time, you are spending someone's tithe, and it may be all they have to give. So if you're spending thirty minutes by the coffee maker with a coworker, or leaving an hour early every week — and I'm not talking about zero flexibility, you need relationships, don't panic about it — it was a good reminder that I need to be a steward, because not only is the church and the organization entrusting me with resources and time, the congregation is too.

I know many of you listening are volunteers, not getting paid, and this may look a little different for you, but you're probably still entrusted with not just the church's budget, but your own budget. So take that time to be wise. How are you stewarding your finances? And a good parallel is asking: would I buy this item if it was my personal money?

Melanie Ringle: (09:29) Right, yes — this is an extension of who you are too. Your ministry should be an extension of what you do for your household budget. That's a very good parallel. I agree.

Hannah Augustine (09:42) This is an issue of integrity, I think — you're being trusted with money, time, and resources, and saying, I'm going to walk with integrity, I'm going to be wise with how I steward what's in front of me. We read in Scripture that Jesus says he who is faithful with little will be given more. So when you're faithful, that may not look like more money, but it may be more opportunities, more chances to care for and steward and love the people God puts in your life. Stewardship is a good principle, period, but especially when it comes to church budget, something to keep in mind.

Now — is a bigger budget actually better? There's this idea of "I want more money." Why do you think it is or isn't any better?

Melanie Ringle: (10:22) Well, for those just listening, my facial expression was a no. Picture the biggest no — that is what it is. No, a bigger budget is not always better. Have I dreamed of having an endless budget? Of course. I've been at churches with literally no budget, thinking, the dreams, if only I had money.

But no, it doesn't matter whether it's a big budget or a small budget — what matters is what you do with it. Again, the idea of stewardship is you're being entrusted with this money. If you're not able to handle the finances coming into your ministry, and you're not managing it well, then a bigger budget isn't going to benefit you either. But when you look at having no budget or a smaller budget, you make those wise decisions: is this going to better the lesson? Is this going to help a kid understand the gospel? Is this going to help me disciple and be with the families? Those are the aspects.

Sometimes it's looking at, am I buying this for pleasure or for purpose? Knowing which of those it is matters more than how big your budget is. You're always going to have to understand what the needs are and how you need to execute them. So — my big no. Don't wish for a bigger budget.

Hannah Augustine (12:00) Something you said in your notes was: what you have — can you manage the resources, or are you just buying because there's money?

Melanie Ringle: (12:06) Yeah, yeah.

Hannah Augustine (12:07) So good, right? And maybe the principle — this is just good life, personal budget advice too — sleep on it, especially for a big purchase. But honestly, even for small ones, sometimes it's pausing, because you may not end up needing that thing. It's almost a challenge: how long can I go before I have to buy that item? Because if you've made it a certain amount of time, you may not actually need it.

For me, there's so much fun and challenge in saving money. Another hack for your personal life, ladies — if you have a hair product or a bottle of lotion, depending on the package, cut that puppy open and you're going to get another two weeks out of that hair cream. Think outside the box and play the game of how you can save money. And when you do purchase, maybe ask — this is girl math, okay, this is where the math comes in — if you're going to buy an item, think it through.

I just bought a walking pad for Prime Day, and so many people wanted to know which one I bought — I need to create an Amazon link so I get some points, I don't know. But I bought one, and I'd been waiting for like a year, thinking, do I really need it? Do I really, really need it? Sometimes the way to break it down is to think: how many times am I going to use it, and how long is it going to last? Because then you know — okay, this ends up being a dollar a month over the next three years — and you can decide, that's worth it.

Maybe you're buying new crayons, and you think, is this worth the cost of the investment? Or maybe it's something bigger, like a better computer for your slides and production. Some ways to look at that: how much time is spent troubleshooting, and your time and your volunteers' time is worth money. How often do things go poorly and ruin your lesson or illustration? Okay — count the cost of what you're going to gain, and that may make the investment worth it. But like you said, just because there's money doesn't mean it needs to be spent.

Hannah Augustine: How do you thrift KidMin — and I know by "thrift" we're talking sales, discounts too — how do you do that well? And what advice do you have for those who say, "I do not have the gift of thrift"?

Melanie Ringle: (14:25) Yes — I've been told this is my spiritual gift, so I'm like, okay, well, I don't know if that's quite biblical, but I'll take it.

The first and foremost thing that helps me thrift, or save money, buy things on sale, is planning ahead and casting vision. If I'm not planning ahead — you can see, my calendar goes all the way through the year, well into December. VBS just ended, and all the new VBS curriculum just got posted, and we're already talking about what we're going to do next. Maybe you already do this — "hey, we always do this curriculum every year." So you know you'll be doing that next year. Start buying the stuff now. Start sending people out to thrift for you if that's not your thing. But it's casting that vision and having a plan that's going to help.

If you get behind — let's be honest, who hasn't been behind in ministry? Right now it's summer; Christmastime is another season we can get behind in, where you're just buying and buying and buying. Well, that's not where you're going to get the sales, not where you'll find the discounts or the resources. Planning ahead lets you be in the mindset of, okay, this is what I need, and when you're out and about, you spot exactly what's on your list. Got it. That's first and foremost.

Second: if you truly are someone who says, don't even mention shopping to me — I get that. But there is someone in your church who has this as their life's passion, and you just ask them, hey, would you go garage-saling for me? And they'll say, yes, please, I've been waiting for you to ask that. Because you'll never meet a thrifter who doesn't get excited about that — it's like Christmas and their birthday wrapped together.

Hannah Augustine (16:43) The thrill of the hunt, right? If you tell them, I need you to find the craziest Christmas inflatables you can, they're on a mission. That's half the fun — digging, going to every store, Facebook Marketplace. It's a joy.

Melanie Ringle: (16:44) Right — you spoke so much life into them, but you're also honoring how God created them. That forms a beautiful friendship and relationship. I have a friend — our worship minister — who could care less about thrifting, but I get a package, open it, and say, "guess how much I bought this for?" And he's like, "I know you got a really good deal," but I know he doesn't actually care. It's about honoring those who have that as their heart to serve. There might be people who don't know how to serve any other way — they're good at finding those deals. You're honoring who they are and how God created them.

And the best part: you give them the list, you sit back, you relax, you move on to the next thing. You focus on discipling families or get caught up on curriculum. It takes something off your plate. That's huge.

That team doesn't have to solely be at your church, either. I have a whole army — my aunts, when they're in Florida in the winter (I'm from Ohio, there are no garage sales or estate sales happening in an Ohio winter unless it's indoors) — I give them a list, hey, this is what I'm looking for, and they go shopping. Friends I've thrifted for have said, hey, I know we're doing the same VBS, I picked this up for me and one for you, we got this. There's a whole army you can build, and if you don't know where to start and want to contact me — sweet, I'll thrift for you too.

Hannah Augustine (19:21) She's ready — if you're in the Ohio area. Although we have pitched a business proposal that Melanie needs a warehouse of thrifted children's ministry items. If you think that's a good idea, comment on this video, because we could get her going with Thrifty KidMin. The business is there — I think the market is there.

Melanie Ringle: Yeah, Ohio area — let's be honest, shipping might get a little crazy. But it's doable in ministry, whether it's you or someone else doing it. It starts with casting that vision. Now, one thing that gets a little tricky: you cast the vision for VBS 2027, that's a year away — what if someone brings you something right now?

So, within reason, you have to know what storage you have. Can you store it? Can someone store it for you? That's the third thing I'd say — those are your top three: cast the vision, have your army of thrifters, and know what storage you have and how you can store it. There are things I buy a year in advance, and it's also remembering where I put it — if it's Christmas, I'm putting it with the Christmas stuff, not just willy-nilly somewhere else. Make sure you know where it's going to be stored, or create an Excel document — hey, we have this item, here's where we've used it, list the events — because there might be something you use twice before you even use it for the original event you bought it for.

Hannah Augustine (21:00) And like you said, planning is really the foundation of this. In our KidMin Academy module in January, we talked about volunteers, and everybody shared different ways they do volunteer care. Brian, at his church in Texas, talked about how they buy Christmas welcome mats and every volunteer gets one. I thought, well, first of all, that's actually a volunteer gift I would want to receive.

When you want a bigger-ticket item, that's fun — but if you're buying those in October, it's going to be expensive. If you capitalize on times of year, there you go. Diving into that — what are some of your favorite creative ways to save money?

Melanie Ringle: (21:44) I look for how many ways I could use something. For example, we had some leis I'd bought for Christmas in July, then used for a tropical theme for one of our curriculum months. Most recently, I cut them up and transformed them into laurel wreaths — I actually have one here: a laurel wreath made out of Hawaiian leis we used for our VBS on Rome.

Originally, these leis were 25 cents because I went to a bin store — fantastic, love it. But it wasn't just one lei — I bought a package of a hundred for 25 cents. So let's girl-math this: I'm making the VBS craft for pennies. And if crafting isn't your forte — because time is also money — I had volunteers use this as a way to earn camp scholarship money. They took the project home, cut all the leis apart, and brought it back, which saved me a lot of time, saved us a lot of money, and let them earn some scholarship funds too.

Finding different ways to use something — there's more than one way. How many countless ways do we have to use pool noodles? So many. You can find pool noodles on clearance after summer, knowing you'll use them — maybe they turn into candy canes for Christmas, or a whole bunch of pumpkins. Endless possibilities. You can also find them not just at regular stores — Habitat for Humanity is where I found a whole stock of after-summer pool noodles. You never know where these random things will turn up.

Those are some of my favorite ways. It's about the hunt, the creative hunt of, okay, now how can I use this? And don't discredit Pinterest — it's still alive and well. I know many curriculums also say, hey, here are items you can reuse from our last series.

And you best believe I'm already brainstorming — okay, we've cut these leis, now what else can I do with them? They're cut, I'm not gluing them back into a Hawaiian lei again.

Hannah Augustine (24:44) No — but I'm picturing a photo wall, all glued in with colors and patterns. There's a lot here to explore. I think you have potential.

Melanie Ringle: (24:52) So many options.

Hannah Augustine (24:57) What you said about time and money is so wise, because there does come a point where sometimes we have to spend some money to save some time. But even then, the creativity — you know, you're listening and you have kids and families who need scholarships, and sometimes we're quick to just give that. There's nothing wrong with giving a scholarship, but growing up, we did car washes, I cleaned houses, things like that to earn money for camp, to earn money for missions. Maybe that's an incentive.

I've talked before about our weekday serve group — homeschool families brought their kids and they'd knock out tasks, like sitting there cutting 200 copies of the craft for the preschool area. They never liked cutting days, who could blame them, they'd come in and say, "I'm sorry, there's a lot of cutting today," and you'd need to massage your hands afterward. But if you can find people who'll help save time, your time is valuable, just like your budget is valuable.

Melanie Ringle: (26:02) How many of your teens need service hours for school? That's another great opportunity for them. And that includes things preschoolers can do too, so the whole family is included — something so simple can make an even greater impact, them serving together as a family. So you're saving money, but the kingdom impact of serving their hearts through this is going to be tremendous.

Hannah Augustine (26:34) Amen. That's where creativity becomes such a great asset. Why do you think creativity should be a skill we keep in our back pocket?

Melanie Ringle: (26:42) Well, first off, we come from a God who created everything — lo and behold, everything we see. We're made in the image of God, and yet we're all so different. How beautiful, that diversity and creativity He had, and now it's in us. It presents differently — we're not talking about you needing all the colors, though I know behind me is very colorful. You don't have to be an artist to be creative. Creativity might come out in an Excel document — you're more of an organizational creative — or maybe you're an expressive creative. Both benefit how you budget your ministry properly.

I think that's one of the most beautiful things — our God, our Creator, allows us to be creative, and that opens up understanding of who our God is, and understanding my talents and someone else's talents. That is beautiful. That level of understanding, and how to honor it for yourself and for others, is going to glorify His name tremendously. It makes people look at your ministry and say, there's something different about how you do ministry that is so beautiful, and I want a part of that. It connects us so deeply to God — I love it.

Hannah Augustine (28:40) So good. And if you're listening, we know this is going to look different in your context. We were praying before we started the episode that the Lord would speak to you through this — whether that looks like conviction, challenge, or celebration, because you're already doing a lot of this — we hope this has given some handholds. We really believe you don't need a big budget to make a big impact. Get creative, work with your teams and families to see how you can stretch and steward what God has given you.

Melanie, we're so grateful for how you're using your gifts and helping not just your church, but other churches, steward the budget they've been given.

Melanie Ringle: (29:16) It's my honor — it really is. I get so giddy talking about it, but it's an honor because I have many friends for whom this isn't their gift, and I'm honored when I can help them out. It's not just my church, it's not just your church — we are the kingdom together. If we impact together, we're going to change this world. That's our hope: that everyone comes to know Jesus.

Hannah Augustine (29:42) And don't forget — one way you can steward is to get free samples. You can take a walk with The Park with a free curriculum sample at parklearning.com, so check that out. We're going to take a few minutes for some bonus KidzMatter PRO content — if you'd like your free trial of KidzMatter PRO, find that at kidzmatter.com/pro.

For those of you listening, take a minute to like, subscribe, and leave us a comment or review somewhere people can find this, and share this episode with the person in your ministry who is your creative thrifter. They may enjoy listening, and they can help you brainstorm. We'll see you next time.