The lock-ins. The fast food. The hormones. The drama. The smell. The pay.
I’ll admit it. There are a few down sides of Youth ministry. Sure, the pluses far outweigh the minuses, but there are still a few minuses.
I remember during one of my youth ministry internships the youth pastor was genuinely mourning the downfall of one of his students. He had always been a great kid, but for some reason decided to turn left and walked away from the church, some friendships, and his faith. He didn't necessarily dive head first into a bunch of destructive behaviors. He just gave up on his faith.
I didn't completely understand why this was so devastating at the time. Sure, it was a little bit of a bummer that the guy wasn't coming to church any more. But it didn't seem like that big of a deal.
Now that I have been doing this ministry thing for quite a while now, I completely understand why it was such a big deal.
1. As pastors we heavily invest ourselves relationally into the lives of students. So when someone decides they want to make different choices with their lives, many times they close the door on their relationship with me. That hurts.
2. I am convinced that following Jesus is the absolute best way to live. When a student disagrees I just want to shake them. I want to remind them of so many of the things they have learned over the years. And I want to will them into different choices and a better grasp on life. That rarely works and I sometimes have to watch someone I love and care about walk down a pretty dark road. I know some of the stuff down that road, but they don't. I wish they would just take my word for it.
3. It's hard to be a pastor and not love the people you are pastoring. And like it or not, you get some favorites along the way. The bottom line is when you love and care about someone, you want the best for them. This isn't theory or philosophy. This is real life. As I write this I have real faces and real names running through my mind. Faces and names that break my heart.
The good news is I'm not going to stop caring for them. And I'm not going to stop loving them. And sometimes we get to have coffee together again and laugh.
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