Are you a ministry leader trying to plan and reach people for Christ with a low or no budget? Money drives everything...except the Gospel (Luke 16:13). God is fully capable of using you to reach others for His Kingdom without a dollar.

Don't ever say, "If only we had more money, we could ________." The deception of money is that it always makes you believe you need more of it. Jesus warned us to guard ourselves about thinking this way (Luke 12:15).

Here are 4 proven ways for you to run a ministry/class/church/mission on little to no funds:

1). Do not fundraise people to death. I hate fundraisers. I would ban them if I could. If I was a public school principle, I would run a fundraiser a week...but in a church they hurt. You can only draw so much water from a well. Fundraisers give the impression you only want money and they take from people's weekly tithe. Also, if you have a fundraiser a month or more, people will start complaining, or worse - they'll quit attending.

If you do have a fundraiser, go outside the church. Even non-church attenders will support a good cause.

2). Piggyback on church events. For example, if your church is about to hold a churchwide BBQ, have your middle schoolers play a kickball game afterwards. Teenagers eat lunch in 5 minutes, then they're bored - go outside as a class and have a 4 square tournament.

Make a mission out of the leftover BBQ. Instead of everyone taking home the extras - your men's ministry can deliver plates to people in need. Everyone loves a free hot meal.

3). Carpool to other church concerts/revivals/conferences. If the Baptist church 8 miles up the road is having a free youth conference - you need to be there with a carload of teenagers. You can enjoy all the benefits of the conference, while planning none of it.

Sunday nights are frequently used for concerts - your senior adult Sunday School class should hear the Gospel quartet down the road. Church leaders must move beyond their insecurity of members attending other churches. You don't own people, Jesus does.

4). Play team sports on the county's facilities. I'm fortunate to live in a county that offers multiple team sports. First Baptist Moreland plays men's softball, women's softball, coed softball, youth softball, coed volleyball, and youth basketball - and not a single sport is on our church's campus. We don't even have a gym.

Team sports allow numerous people to play and cheer at the games. This can also be an outreach - if someone wants to join your team, they must attend church. There is a cost for registration and jerseys. Look for a local business to pay for the jerseys if they can advertise their company on the back. We use the same jersey for every sport, every year. Its nice using county facilities - no set-up, no clean-up, and no power bill.

26 people were killed this morning at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. 20 of them were children. This was the second worst shooting in U.S. school history, exceeded only by the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting when 32 people were killed.

This horrific tragedy forces church and school leaders to question security. We live in a sinful, fallen world in which school and church shootings have become too common.

Church leaders should take necessary steps ensuring the safety of worshipers. Here are 3 steps to improve the safety at your church:

• Have a uniformed police officer present on Sundays and Wednesdays. This lets church members and guests know you take their safety seriously.

• Have an emergency action plan. Teachers should know what to do and where to go in case a crisis develops.
• Be aware of and report suspicious behavior. Combative and unstable individuals should be pulled aside and evaluated.

Today reminds us we're never safe - planning and preparing for a tragedy is something church and school leaders can no longer ignore.

Are you involved at your church? Do you want to preach better sermons, become a better Upward coach, or teach middle schoolers more effectively?

Here are the 3 P's I personally use pastoring First Baptist Moreland. These are proven, positive and provide a platform for leading and teaching children, students or adults.

1). Prayer. You should be praying for God to give you the words to say. Ask God to use you as His messenger - be filled with His Spirit. Pray for the people you'll be teaching. Pray specially for last Wednesday's prayer requests. Pray for your students to bring a friend next week.

Prayer reveals your dependance on God. A pastor, deacon, or Sunday School teacher faces a great temptation to depend on prior knowledge and experience rather than the power of God. You must make time for prayer, it will never "just happen." Praying in the car driving to work is not dependance on God.

2). Preparation. Do you write "Saturday Night Specials?" Do you plan your Sunday School lessons during the worship service? God knows if you're not prepared. The people you're teaching will know as well. You'll begin repeating yourself, or begin proclaiming Christian Cliches, such as, "Don't put God in a box." Or, "When God closes a door, He opens a window." Facebook and Twitter are overflowing with Christian Cliches.

You want to bring a fresh, prepared message from God every Sunday and Wednesday. You can be prepared by diving into God's Word every day - searching the Scriptures about the topic you're planning to teach. You want to push 1-3 main points of your lesson. If you did an exit interview of everyone leaving the classroom, asking them, "What did you just learn?" How you answer that question should shape your preparation.

3). Promotion. You must be continually inviting new people to attend, contacting missing members, evangelizing students, using social media to promote your message, and informing your audience of upcoming messages and events. You're the walking billboard for the single adult ministry in Hope, Arkansas - every single adult within a 10 miles radius should know your plans. It drives me bananas when someone says, "Daniel, I had no idea that was going on."

I believe the church has the best and only life changing message (Romans 6:4). You must promote your message with passion, purpose and plainness.

This is challenging for many leaders, because you feel you're promoting yourself. You have to view promotion as conviction of your message. If you've prayed and arrive prepared to preach - you'll find joy in promoting a message from God.

Who is Zig Ziglar? How did he make a difference in our lives? Ziglar passed away yesterday at 86 years old. He was known as, "America's Motivator." A member of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas and served as the 1st vice-president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1984-85.

He was best known for his quotes, speeches and positive books. Here's his website. Here are 5 differences Ziglar made in our lives:

1.) We need a personal game plan for our lives. When you were 10 years old and wanted to be a nurse when you grew up, have you reached your goal? Ziglar always communicated the need for a game plan and how to stay on track. If you're wasting your life, Ziglar's 3 steps to success will help: Will, Skill, Refill.

2.) People love positive messages. If you offer encouragement and hope, you'll always have an audience and friends. Ziglar wanted people to feel better about themselves after they heard, met or read about him. He built others up.

3.) Humor can connect with anyone. Even people who disagree with everything you stand for, they'll laugh at something funny. His simple, down-home humor could bring smiles to any face.

4.) Ziglar became well-known later in his career. He published his first book at 49, after a career in sales. He made mistakes early in his career - going broke 10 times and having to start over. Anyone could identify with him, a poor salesman from Mississippi - who transformed into a successful author and speaker. His first book was rejected by 30 publishers before finally being published.

5.) He wasn't ashamed of his Christian faith in the workplace. When he spoke to millions of business executives and employees, he'd boldly proclaim he's a born again Christian. Never apologized, shared his beliefs in a comfortable manner.