These ideas are for a mission trip, but you can apply them to camp and other events. You can also check this out (and a TON of other info) at the website for GO!students.
I want to go on a mission trip this summer, but I don’t have the money and my parents can’t afford to send me either. How can I come up with the money?
—Flat Broke
It’s great that you want to go on a trip this summer! And don’t be discouraged, money is not an obstacle for God. If He wants you there, the money will come through. We’ve listed some sources below to go to for money, as well as some ideas for funding your trip. Keep in mind that even if you don’t end up going on the trip, you can be part of God’s mission wherever you are this summer. You can share Christ at a summer job, as a camp counselor, or by volunteering at a local ministry.
It’s unlikely that all the money for your trip will come from one source, so you might want to divide it up. One good way to look at it is that 1/3 would come from your church, 1/3 from family and friends, and 1/3 from money you earn. With that in mind, here are some ideas for coming up with the money—both the kind you are given and the kind you earn:
— Send an e-mail or letter to family and friends explaining what you are planning and asking them to support you in prayer and financially.
— Create a Web site with pictures and descriptions of what you want to do, and invite friends and family to visit it and consider supporting your trip.
— Ask your youth pastor and/or someone involved in missions at your church if there is money available for individual trips.
— Call or write letters to organizations in town that have a purpose similar to that of your trip. Ask if they’d be willing to sponsor you in some way, or if they would provide a scholarship or matching funds from other donations.
— Ask your friends and relatives for money to go toward your trip in place of birthday and Christmas gifts.
— Contact newspapers and magazines and see if they’ll sponsor your trip in exchange for a story about it when you return.
— Do any work that people are willing to pay you for: Mow yards, baby-sit, walk the neighbor’s dog, do some filing or answer the phones at a family member’s office, shovel snow, clean windows, or any crazy thing you can think of . (RENT-A-YOUTH!!)
