Teaching money management

Money isn’t easy to come by in Lemoa–a small farming community about 20 minutes down the road from Chichicastenango in the mountains of Guatemala–for that matter neither are stable jobs or education (if you want to study anything past the sixth grade).

Yet, in this village one church is training a team of young adults to think in new ways that they hope will change this and build a strong foundation for their faith.

The leaders at Iglesia Admirable Príncipe de Paz (Admirable Prince of Peace Church) are teaching the Bible along side classes that will give a group of about 10 students an accredited diploma when they finish.

Since the pandemic interrupted regular church services and activities, the Lemoa church leaders developed a series of extra seminars for their parishioners that varied from cooking classes to computer classes and a class on budgeting and how to better understand how finances work.

The two-day class included explanations about what the Bible says about money, what different financial terms mean, how banks and interest work, how to develop a personal budget and how a budget works for starting a small business.

Michael Shead taught the sessions on the Bible and money and how to develop a budget for personal and business finance.

“We gave an example of a budget for a small business to make and sell flavored gelatin snacks–something that is common here,” Michael recounted. “Once we put all the costs together from transportation to supplies, etc., the students could see that at current rates a gelatin business wasn’t going to turn much of a profit even though the gross income could look nice on a daily basis. I wanted the students to learn how to evaluate their expenses along with their income.”

Real-life scenarios like the gelatin business example helped the students connect with the every day application of what they were learning.

The students also played a simulated money game with stores and expenses to practice managing, saving, and spending fake money.

The eleven students left with assignments to record their own expenses in preparation for an additional class to help them develop a personal budget that can help them manage debts and increase resources for them and their families.

“I love seeing local churches taking leadership to present God’s Word and practical application of godly principles that can transform a community’s way of thinking,” Michael said. “It is a privilege to get to be part of the church in Lemoa as they develop leaders among these young adults.”

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Please pray for the church in Lemoa and for us as we help local churches disciple for transformation of their communities with Christ.

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