Spend some time talking with older adults today and you'll find experts at ways to stretch the dollar.  Most can remember how they grew up amid or following the Great Depression, so they had to find ways to make the best use of their resources. Why not spend some time mixing the generations in your church to discover ways to re-engineer ways to address the declining economy today.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

CLOTHING SWAP SHOP
Mobilize older adult Sunday School classes or other ministry groups to provide a monthly clothing swap shop. Invite parents to save those clothes their children have outgrown. Ask adults to go through their closets to remove anything they have not worn in a couple of years or they no longer are able to wear. Designate a time for persons to bring clothing to the church and enlist volunteers to sort clothing by size. Designate a day for the clothing swap. Provide left over plastic grocery bags. Give each person a bag they may fill during the clothing swap. This allows many people to participate in the swap shop and all are able to receive at least one bag of clothing. You may choose to allow persons to return for a day 2 swap shopping experience. You may find an unintended consequence of this ministry will involve your discovering clothing that needs mending, washing, etc. Be sure to enlist volunteers to help with this since many good clothes only need a run through the washing machine to make them as good as new.  In addition, you may also discover many young mothers who were never taught how to mend clothing. Consider asking some seamstresses to set up a table in the clothing collection area in which you offer to show adults and older children how to mend socks, sweather, stitch up a seam, etc. Who knows, you may even offer sign ups for sewing classes.

HELP: THERE IS MORE MONTH LEFT AT THE END OF MY MONEY!
Unfortunately, many families have never maintained a household budget. What better time to provide Christian money management classes.  Check out the SCBC Stewardship web site at  www.scbaptist.org/stewardship.  Crown Financial Ministries (www.crown.org) also provides several great resources churches and families may use to address these tough economic times--especially in developing and maintaining a household budget. Consider taking stewardship or budgeting classes a step further by offering older adult mentors who have had to stretch dollars across the years and, at the same time, contribute their tithes and offerings to expand God's Kingdom.

RECESSION PROOF RECIPES
Mobilize older adults to plan a fellowship to mix the generations and discover frugal ways to provide healthy meals on a shoestring budget. Enlist two or three older adults to gather recipes for cost effective meals. If round tables are available, place them around your church fellowship area (may be a location other than your church) since they are more conducive to being able to talk with everyone at the table. Invite several older adults to provide entertainment that evening by telling stories of how their families survived the tough times during and following the Great Depression. Be sure to include humorous as well as serious stories. Certainly, you will want folks to share how their relationship with Jesus Christ helped them during those times and those to follow. You may discover relationships sprout among the generations.  Encourage older adults to consider praying for a younger person or family on a regular basis. Coach them on ways to find out how to pray more specifically for them. You'll be surprised at how well you'll help erase some of the myths associated with aging--especially that older persons are always looking for people to take care of them. We know that is not true, but mixing the generations will provide all people of all ages an opportunity to forge lifelong relationships during these tough economic times.

STAYCATION OPTIONS
Many families may find it difficult to spend money on vacations this year. Ask older adults to investigate other options for individual and familiy vacations. Dont' overlook those things your church is already doing that may provide a great option for stacations (vacationing at home instead of vacationing somewhere else).
--Many churches provide Vacation Bible School for children. Refocus or expand your emphasis this year and provide VBS for everyone of all ages. One of the Lifeway options for VBS in 2009 focuses on the Boomerang Express: It All Comes Back to Jesus. The Bible study will take passengers on a train ride throughout Australia as they discover the only important thing in life is a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. You might even consider a trial run with adult VBS for your VBS faculty so they may also experience and respond to the truths they discover in God's Word.
--Talk with your Baptist Association to discover opportunities for family missions in your area. They can connect you with many opportunities to minister to others during your staycation.
--Connect with groups that are already providing summer experiences for children and youth in your area. Offer to volunteer your time to provide a Christian influence there. For example, many YMCA's offer summer camp experiences in the community. Surely you can find a way to help your local community through existing opportunities. Check out public library reading programs, etc.

VICTORY GARDENS?
Most younger people will not know what victory gardens are or why the United States Government encouraged them during World War I and World War II. (You can check out some history on these at www.revivevictorygarden.org.)  Consider inviting a local gardening expert to share tips on ways to create "victory gardens" again. The gardens will become conversational topics and provide open doors to share how your garden reminds you of how God provides your needs, how you can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, how you have discovered that victory in life is dependent on Jesus Christ not the economy, etc.

You get the idea now. Let me know of other ideas you have tried. Check back here again. I'm sure there will be more ideas added. Please consider sharing some of your own.  You may email your ideas to Belinda Jolley or call 800-723,7242, extension 2120 to share your ideas by phone.