Good Experience #5

Being a Youth Pastor

            As I said in my good experience post #4, this past year has been vastly different for me. I am completely in it to win it for the local church. Not only do I lead worship for a church of 4,000  plus, but I am one of the youth pastors for a youth ministry of 600+! Leading worship is easy compared to youth ministry, let me tell you! This past year I’ve been so fortunate to be able to step into a different role besides worship. Being a worship pastor is second nature to me, but being a youth pastor is completely different. What I do in the youth ministry is that I am the gatherings pastor which means that I am responsible for every aspect of our gatherings. I lead our student leadership in which we have 40 student leaders and I am responsible for them and our training times. I oversee worship as well partially because I know what needs to happen in that department and I make sure everything goes well in that department.

            But this year has been an amazing experience because I get to help shape and develop the future leaders, pastors, businessmen and Christians of tomorrow. I preach every other week and  I get to speak life into these students, who before hearing about Jesus, didn’t have a life or a future. It’s a huge responsibility and I do know it. It’s a great feeling knowing that I am doing what God has called me to do, but, I know that these students take everything I say seriously which means that I am under a lot of scrutiny! I have to watch what I say and do. That feeling brings a lot of pressure and sometimes its overwhelming.

            I’ll end with this, youth ministry is hard! If only for the sheer fact that these 600+ students are real people and they look to me for advice and leadership. Every week I hear a story from a student about what they’ve gone through, or what they’re going through and it breaks me. I’ll drive home every week and be broken because of what my students are going through. A few weeks ago, one of our leaders came to me after the Friday night gathering at winter camp and told me that a student of hers told her a story. She goes on to tell me that this girl who is in Jr. High has made some bad decisions and that she her boyfriend did something to her that she didn’t want and this Jr. High girl is hurt and confused. She accepted Christ that night and although the scars and pain don’t just fade, she’s found true love in Jesus. These stories affect me as they do with every youth pastor, and these stories make me want to be the best pastor I can be and do everything I can to point them to Jesus, because what they need more than a friend or an open ear, is Jesus.