Is It Just Money? is designed to engage youth in an exploration of money as it relates to faith and justice. This collection of activities and discussions will provide the study leader with the resources to help youth—ages thirteen to eighteen—deepen their understanding of the complex questions that surround making, having, giving, and using money.
The following principles guide the conversations and shared work throughout the sessions:
- God has provided plentifully for the needs of the people of earth.
- Human action has caused these resources to be unfairly distributed.
- Our faith calls on us to respond to the immediate needs of others.
- Our faith calls on us to reform systems that promote and further inequity.
In Session One, “Is It Just Money?,” participants will explore what the Bible and our faith tells us about the value of money and its right use. In Session Two, “A Healthy Bottom Line,” participants will examine the difference between wants and needs, and the difference between an abundance mindset and a scarcity mindset. It asks youth to think about how we can free up our excess resources to make life better for those in need.
In Session Three, “The Luck of the Draw,” participants are invited to see and learn about the poverty around them, and as Christians committed to justice, to become allies to and workers with those who struggle with the reality of poverty every day. In Session Four, “What Does It Cost?,” participants are asked to recognize the hidden “downline” costs of goods and services— the impact on workers and the environment—and take these costs into account when they make purchasing decisions.
Throughout the sessions, eye-opening role-playing activities, games, and questionnaires, (along with real-life examples of individuals who’ve shared what they have generously with those in need) reinforce the concept that God wants us all to be healthy, happy, well fed, sheltered, and safe, and in service to the people and creatures with whom we share the earth.
The authors, Tom and Anna Burkett, are a father-daughter team.
Anna Burkett is a 2017 graduate of Goucher College and a world language teacher who has written curriculum for the annual Baptist Youth Camp.
Tom Burkett is a middle school teacher who has been active on issues of political, social, and racial justice for more than four decades. He has authored curriculum for a variety of organizations at the national, state, and local level.