Andy Williams calls it the most wonderful time of the year. I call it budget season. The time of the year when you can start thinking about all the things you can buy with next year’s budget. So, with that in mind, I wanted to share with you a few of the items that I have found to be well worth the investment.

Kids Ministry. Your kids ministry should be a place where kids learn about Jesus on their level in a fun and safe environment. Here are some items that can help create that environment.

Dell All in One PC. This computer will allow you to implement a check in station for your ministry. This is vitally important for parents. They want to know that they’ll be the only ones who can check their child in and out of a room. You’ll also need a printer to print those labels. We use the Dymo Labelwriter 450.

KidSpring Curriculum. One of the best moves we’ve ever made as a church is switching to the KidSpring Curriculum from Newspring Church. It takes a few more volunteers to pull off, but it’s well worth it. The best thing is, the curriculum is absolutely free. You can’t beat that.

Baby Playpen Safety Play Center. Something simple like this play center can really improve the look of a room, and it’s fun for the little ones. I also love using playhouses like this Walk-In Kitchen for older kids.

Foam Floor Tiles. Foam floor tiles are always a great addition to a space with little ones. These can provide fun colors to a room, as well as some cushion for all those falls and trips.

Changing Station. The absence of baby changing stations in bathrooms is a huge pet peeve for a lot of parents. Especially when it’s such an easy fix.

First Impressions/Guest Services. You rarely get a second chance at making a first impression. Studies have shown that most first-time guests who attend your church will decide whether they will ever come back within the first seven minutes.

Outdoor Flags. I’m not talking about the Red, White, and Blue even though I love that flag. I’m talking about flags that market your church by gaining the attention of everyone who drives by. They’re not exactly cheap, but they’re worth it.

Guest Parking Signs. You should have parking spaces clearly marked for visitors close to your entrance. This communicates your expecting them, you care about them, and it helps you identify them.

Coffee. If you’re not serving coffee, you need to be. It wakes people up, and it fosters conversations. For years we used Standard Coffee to provide all of our supplies. You may just want to brew several pots of coffee and keep them warm in a Curtis thermal dispenser. Do whatever works best for you.

Umbrellas. Our parking team’s motto is, “When it rains we shine.” Feel free to steal it. We get a lot of rain in Tennessee, which means we get a lot of opportunities to shine. You got a single mom with three kids trying to get to a door during a rainstorm, you better believe it makes a great impression when someone escorts her to the door with an umbrella.

Worship/Media Ministry. The key to keeping us looking and sounding good. It used to be that only megachurches could afford to create an incredible worship experience, but that’s not the case anymore.

Sound Board – The Behringer X32 has really changed the game for a lot of churches. It’s an affordable digital console, which just didn’t exist a few years ago. We loved ours so much that when we got ready to start a portable campus we bought the compact version and haven’t had any regrets.

Microphones – We use Shure SM58 microphones. They sound great as long as I’m not the one singing into them.

Projector – A couple of years ago we moved from two screens on the sides of our auditorium to one screen behind the middle of the stage. This has helped with crowd engagement. At the time we purchased the Hitachi CP-WX8265 and it has held up well.

Camera – Earlier this year we purchased the MEVO Plus to use to Facebook Live our services. It has it’s issues, but for $499 it gets the job done.

Student Ministry. I’m an executive pastor who has recently become a student pastor as well. It’s one of the most difficult things I’ve ever attempted, but also one of the most rewarding. Here’s a couple things that have helped.

Grow Curriculum. I would be in a world of trouble if it wasn’t for this curriculum. It has saved me so much time. I go much more in depth about it in this post. If you’re a student pastor, I highly recommend this.

Books. When I became student pastor I did lots of research and joined lots of groups. The two books that were recommended over and over again were Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry and Sustainable Youth Ministry. After reading them, I know why. They’re fantastic.

DownloadYouthMinistry.com. I’ll be honest, I haven’t spent much time on this site yet, but I plan to. It’s on my wish list for 2018. But I know lots of people who have, and they consider it the best youth ministry resource around.

Office/Admin. This list wouldn’t be complete without some administrative items. Here are a few of my favs.

PlanningCenter. I absolutely love Planning Center. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a church management database that makes my life so much simpler. It helps me track contributions, volunteers, group attendance, and lots of other stuff. I wrote more about in this post about my switch from Church Community Builder to Planning Center.

Apple iMac. The first big purchase I made as a pastor seven years ago was an iMac. For someone who had always used PC’s it took a minute to get used to, but I would never go back. I upgraded to a newer version a couple years ago, and I’m thinking 2018 may be the year I upgrade again.

HP Laserjet Printer. We’ve used a version of this printer for years now. If you print your own bulletins, this printer is a great option. It prints fast, and the quality is great. It’s a great option for the money.

Vistaprint. The items we can’t print on our own printer we now outsource to Vistaprint. We use them for connection cards, invite cards, and thank you cards. They do quality work, and you can always find a promo code that will save you money.

I hope this list helps, and I’d love for you to share the one thing you would add to your list. Let us know by leaving a comment and a link below. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get tips on church growth, leadership, and more delivered to your inbox each week.