What was never revealed to me is that following God into the great unknown does not as neatly work as the climbing the ladder of ministry success presented in my college classes. In the real world no one really cares how many kids showed up to your "Big Night" (insert cool and relevant title here) event. Or even the really important things like how many young people's lives were forever changed by the gospel of Jesus cannot land you a job outside the bubble of the church.
Even the church does not help with this. As presented so well on facebook lately is all the pictures that tell the story of what others think we do and what is actually done by a pastor, youth pastor, or worship pastor.
We are more than pizza eating, retreat taking, X-box playing, funny storying telling pranksters. We have real marketable skillls. A lot of us oversee 10's to 100's of volunteers on a weekly basis. Some of us organize major events or large scale fundraisers. We plan, organize, and pull off major trips. We are master communicators to an audience that has the attention span of gnat. We put in looonnnggg hours and then after we get home from that our phone rings with another counseling session that cannot wait. And we are given responsibility for things of great importance - some else's children.
So whether you are still battling in the foxholes on the battlefield for students. Or you are like me a veteran of the battle who has taken on a new war. You are more than a youth pastor. You are someone's hero, someone's teacher, a life-changer. You are capable of great things - even in a place not called the church. Know that you are more than the label laid on you and that you are an invaluable asset to the place that pays you for your services.
Youth Pastors Unite!
