Lost-Cost Ideas for Effective Ministry
Todd Outcalt
Group, 2009, 177 pp., $9.99

No matter what your youth budget is, I guarantee you wish you had more; but one thing I’ve found true through the years is that a lot of money does not equal a great event/ministry. In The $5 Youth Ministry, Todd Outcalt provides more than 150 pages of great ideas. You may not use every idea in this book, but I think you’ll use quite a few and be glad you did; so pick up this book and start utilizing some of the low-cost ideas. Plus, you can then use any extra budget money on the people, not the events.
–Mike Kupferer has been in youth ministry for more than10 years. He currently is serving in northwest Ohio.

I found Todd’s attempt to make ministry more affordable while keeping it fun and energetic very refreshing. In a time of economic struggle, it is great to have people in ministry who get it and who admits you do not have to complete financially with culture to stay fun and relevant. At the same time, my students are learning something I hope they won’t be quick to forget. I also appreciate his caution that not all games and activities will be seen as appropriate to all ministries. I did find a few in here that I felt were questionable. However, that is going to be the case with any resource. We cannot always agree 100 percent of the time. This is a great resource for youth ministry, and after 15 years in ministry I don’t always say that.
–Christopher Pope, Student Pastor,Cornerstone Community Church

“You will LOL at ‘Blindfold Cupcakes,’ and ‘Gospel Texting’ made me want my wife start texting me Bible verses!
“Tried and true, no taboo, up-to-date shoestring ideas you’ve gotta try tonight!”
“Full forte of fruity to fruitful activities for your fellowship in one first-class book!”
“Use it yourself, give it a volunteer for the following week or have the kids review it together for part of the meeting in order to plan for the month ahead!”
–Kent Kessler, 25-year youth ministry veteran and current doctoral student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the Ministry to Emerging Generations; Upland, Indiana.

The $5 Youth Ministry by Todd Outcalt is a book I will keep on my shelf for two reasons: 1) I’m a big-picture guy who often has trouble coming up with ideas–illustrations, small service projects, or fun mixers and games. There are plenty of idea resources out there, but many idea websites and books are poorly organized, don’t offer many good ideas, or all the ideas seem to be for youth ministries with tons of students and a bottomless budget. No idea book is perfect, but most of the ideas in The $5 Youth Ministry seem to be ideas I actually could use. 2) It’s no secret that many churches and youth ministries are strapped for cash. This book certainly is good for down years, but being good stewards of ministry funds is something that never should go out of style. Fun and meaningful ministry doesn’t necessarily require lots of money, and this book can help us as youth workers do more with less rather than always going into church board meetings asking for more budget money. I definitely recommend this resource. It will be one you pull off your shelf on a weekly basis.
–Benjer McVeigh

The $5 Youth Ministry is a great tool for anyone in youth ministry, whether paid multi-staff or volunteer with just a few students. This is an easy-to-navigate and very helpful resource that is full of activities that best of all aren’t cheesy. This is chock full of ideas that can be funded with the change you dug out of the couch cushions.
–Aaron Stetson, Youth Pastor, Windham Presbyterian Church, Windham, New Hampshire

In today’s economy, youth workers need resources that are cheap, yet highly effective. Todd Outcalt’s book The $5 Youth Ministry offers such ideas. Broken down into topics such as games, fundraisers, missions, retreats and teaching, this resource puts forth easy to achieve ideas for any size youth ministry, as well as offers youth workers many possibilities to have students go deeper, experience God and unpack their creative talent. I love this little book, and will be turning to it often.
—Shawn Harrison, Student and Family Pastor at Wayne Street UMC, Saint Marys, Ohio.

The $5 Youth Ministry by Todd Outcalt is a resource that can help some ministries just starting out. It does have some ideas that can be gleaned from the extensive list. The index was alphabetical, which made it hard to find things unless you just sit down and read the whole book. The Fantastic Five’s were a good way to highlight some ideas. For youth ministers looking for ideas and have time to sit and read, this will be a good choice.
–Grant Byrd

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