Yesterday I was given the opportunity to talk about what I do for a living in the Career Class at Eden Prairie High School. I will take any opportunity I can get to go on a school campus! This opportunity was unique in that I was given free reign to talk about what I do and why I do it. I was excited that I knew some of the students who were in the class I was teaching. I went in thinking that I might not see anyone I knew since EPHS is so behometh.
Youth ministry can take on so many different settings (Church, camp, school etc.) and it can look vastly different within those settings (volunteer, part-time, full-time, full-time but paid like a volunteer...) Within all these differences there are lots of different things that student ministers do on a given day. Sometimes our day is spent prepping for an event. Some weeks we find ourselves in a different country implementing the mission trip we spent so much time prepping for. Other days we are with a family dealing with a crises. And there are those days where we are eating a meal with a leader, student, parent or fellow-youth worker. For some students I think that I opened their eyes that youthpastors do more than play video games and eat pizza (see videos below).
I shared with the students that one of the hardest parts of ministry is that you never get to see the finished product. This is because ultimately it is up to that person to make wise choices and seek God. If I were a carpenter then I would have a finished product when the task was done. Ministry isn't like that. Youth ministry is extremely rewarding in that we get to be a part of the discipleship of students who grow in their relationship with God and we get to watch them influence their friends to do the same. I love watching a student who is squirly as a Freshman grow into a leader and influencer as a Senior. I also love to share this joy with volunteer youth leaders who get to observe the same growth. I'm grateful that God has called me to this ministry and can't think of anything else I would rather do!
Here's a funny video from the Simply Youth Ministry Conference giving stereotypes that all youth pastor's should avoid. They got me on a couple of these:
Here's another great video that takes the opposite approach:
Killer Youth Ministry Tips from Igniter Media on Vimeo.
