What Do You Mean You're A Youth Pastor?

I wanted to start a series that shares the most important things I have learned in my first year as a full time youth pastor, since I am coming up on my anniversary October 12th. But first I wanted to explain what exactly a youth pastor is and or does with his or maybe hers (depending on your denomination) everyday life.

Ever since I started telling people that I was going to college to pursue a job in youth ministry I would always be looking into a very confused face. Or hear things like that "is that really a college degree or a career," or "you can get paid for that!" Or phrases like "Ok so you have an office at the church now what exactly do you with your time when your there?" "You get to take students to movies, amusement parks, sporting events, or to get food, and then sometimes the church pays for it!"

Usually the people that react in this way have no concept of church or a relationship with God, but I think even people in the church can sometimes underestimate or degrade the work of being a youth pastor. As if somehow our job is secondary to theirs and all we know how to do is play games and eat pizza. I believe that if this was the case and youth ministry was just all fun and games that you could buy a parent a $20 game book and have an effective outreach. Obviously taking away the need for a trained youth leader that understands how to reach youth culture.

For a long time I struggled when people would ask the question "What do you mean you’re a youth pastor?" Implying that they could not understand what exactly I did with my time or why it was necessary. Often I would just give them a simple answer like "I get to hang out with teenagers for a living" or explain that I am like a glorified Sunday school teacher. But deep down I knew that there was so much more to what we do as youth ministers, that I really did not even know where to start explaining.

I came across a small article in a youth magazine that was written by another youth pastor. The article had no introduction or ending, it was simply 1 Corinthians 13 reworded for youth pastors. When I read the article I not only came away with a better understanding of 1 Corinthians 13 but also had a better understanding of what I am called to do as a youth pastor. So I thought I would give it a try myself to help explain the question "What do you mean you’re a youth pastor?" Following is the passage I chose to represent that answer.

2 Corinthians 6:3-10 For Youth Pastors

We live in such a way that no student will stumble because of our actions or words, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God even if is just playing dodge ball.

We patiently endure a text message early in the morning or late a night, students living a double life, fast-food five times a week for the sake of our health, listening to a story because no one else will, along with other troubles, conflicts, and disappointments of every kind imaginable.

We have been beaten physically and emotionally, faced angry mobs of parents, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights and not just because of all-nighters, and gone without food to pray and fast for those in our ministry.

We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love for youth. We faithfully preach the truth. God's power is working in us. We use weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack against the enemy and the left for defense of ourselves, family and ministry. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us.

We are loved, but then we are hated. We are ignored by students, even though they know us well. We live incarnate in youth culture, but are still adults. We are always our self, but yet different for every student. We have been temporarily forgotten, but always remembered as someone that cared.

Our hearts ache for teenagers, but we always have joy. We are poor by choice but give spiritual riches to others. We don't own the houses we live in, we drive cars with high mileage, pay most of our salary to school loans, but yet we have everything.


Here is the link to the God inspired version of the passage.

2 Corinthians 6:3-10