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Forum Newbie
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I am in the process of trying to talk the church board in to getting a bus. They are against it for all of the "practical" reasons such as upkeep and insurance. I want to show them that having a Van is a very practical tool when it comes to Youth ministry, the main reasons I have so far are 1. it simplifies planning for trips and activities if I don't have to worry about lining up drivers. 2. When we travel together it helps build community among the youth group. 3. Great advertising opportunity with the name of the church driving around town.
Please post any further ideas of why having a bus/van would be beneficial to our ministry.
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Forum Expert
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I would look at the calendar and figure out how many events you need a van for and then figure that number times the cost of renting a van. Perhaps that would be a help to your argument.
Andy
Reaching Students to Discover Life in Christ
www.theaddyouthpastor.com
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Forum Guru
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| Also are there other ministries that could benefit from the use of vans? Factor them in if you have them. Melissa - NY
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 2/2/2010 6:47:56 PM
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I just spent $2300 to take a tour bus from Findlay, OH to Chicago, IL for a weekend trip. I could have purchased a good used school bus for that price.
Insurance for a school bus is very cheap also.
A few things to consider:
1. Would you need to rent & how much do you think that would cost over a year?
2. Where would you store the vans?
----
Love God
Love People
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Forum Guru
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| Here in California the bus driver has to have a ton of training and take expensive exams.... We haven't been able to use our bus as often as we would like because there is only one person qualified. And he drives M-F for the before and afterschool care so isn't too keen on weekend trips. I don't know all of the details but it seems like it is way more complicated than it has to be.
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Forum Expert
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I just reserved 3 rental vans to go along with our church 's van for a 3 day trip. Around $1500. It would be nice to have a bus but we would only use it two or three times a year. Charter busses are expensive!!
Andy
Reaching Students to Discover Life in Christ
www.theaddyouthpastor.com
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Forum Member
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Cost and upkeep are huge on busses. Insurance is pretty steep, you need to have people with CDL's.
I have fought this fight before also. You do need to do a good cost benefit analysis of how often this bus is used and when it can be kept. The more math you do, the better your argument will be.
A word to the wise, get multiple quotes for all the math you do. if you make the argument based on faulty math you will do irreparable harm to not only the bus, but to your ministry if you are suddenly viewed as trying to work the system/lie cheat steal to get what you want.
Denver Seminary Youth Ministry Student, Social Worker, Middle School Youth Worker
http://web.me.com/matthew.murphy79/Engaging_the_Shadows/Engaging_the_Shadow.html
moderator @ pastor2youth.com
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Junior Member
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You can also use it on a weekly basis to pick up students that do not have transportation. I was a part of a ministry that aquired 5 vans and would pick up 100 kids a week.
Thanks,
doug@3degrees.cc
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Forum Expert
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there is a huge difference between adding a small bus and a 15 passenger van. usually with a van insurance doesn't raise drastically and you don't have to worry about a cdl license. Also, having a van helps ensure getting kids home after events or church especially is they're community kids.
the positives of implementing a van are cheaper cost, ease of use and you can always build up to adding a van or building up to a bus. I would really promote how all the ministries could use the benefit of the van.
Matt, forum moderator
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Forum Expert
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Let me add that I just totaled the receipts and the cost for 3 van rentals plus our one van and fuel was over $2000.00 for one event. That's still a lot cheaper than a car payment on a 50 seat bus.
Andy
Reaching Students to Discover Life in Christ
www.theaddyouthpastor.com
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