Okay, this isn't really AIBU territory, but I wasn't sure where else to put it...
DH and I want to start going out to a church evening group on a weekly basis. We will need a babysitter to enable us to do this (we've been asked to help lead the group, so it's preferable that we're both there each week). We don't have any family nearby, so our babysitting options are either a) ask one or more (church) friends (either childless or with grown-up children) or b) pay a (church) teenager.
Initially, we asked a friend, who comes round to see DH most weeks on the afternoon of the day we want to go out. He said yes, but now can't do the first week. Which is fair enough - he's doing us a favour. But now I'm wondering whether we should just pay a teenager, because then they'd be less likely to miss weeks, and we could keep our "favour" sitters as reserves. However, part of the reason that I'm thinking this is that I don't like asking favours from people that I have no obvious way of returning - even though it's not a big inconvenience (usually) and they have previously offered to babysit if we need it.
So - is paying the sensible option. Or am I being overly independent?