What do you think about when you hear, “ripped black skinny jeans and matching denim jacket”? A worship leader, obviously.
What do you think about when you hear, “Come quick, there is throw up all over the cabin!” Student ministry, 100%.
The church world has so many stereotypes and expectations for what it looks like to work full-time in ministry. Perhaps you think that the pastor stays in his office all week just drinking coffee and reading the Bible.
Perhaps you think that student ministry is just pizza parties, costume-themed dances, and epic upfront games.
These are all certainly part of it – but if we’re really honest, there are not many people outside of the church that genuinely know what it feels and looks like to be in ministry.
Related Blog: 4 Reasons You Should Go Into Full-Time Ministry!
Related Book: Discerning Your Call To Ministry by Jason Allen
Well, I am here to share some insider secrets.
- You have got to be flexible.
Ministry is a people industry. It is ALL about other people. Every single role in the church, whether administration or pastoral, is to play a role in guiding others towards a deeper relationship with Christ and helping to serve the community around them.
Life is really messy. You may plan your calendar down to a T, all color coded and nice looking. Then, you get to the office only to hear that someone came to the door and needs a ride to the nearest VA site, so you find yourself driving this person there and waiting with them as they get their things figured out.
You may get back to the office looking forward to last night’s dinner that you brought in, only to find that a family called you and needs to grab lunch to talk about an immediate crisis. The next day, you are playing sports with students and jumping up and down to hype music.
All ministry, student ministry especially, is very different every single day. You have to be willing to be flexible and always willing to serve.
Vocational ministry requires you to be overly flexible. You must make plans, and budgets, but you also must be willing to change them on the fly and problem solve almost every time.
This kind of change can be tiring, but once you find the little bit of routine that you can, it becomes quite the enjoyable, albeit wild, ride.
- Student Ministry will never not confuse you.
You heard me. If you go into full-time student ministry, there is ALWAYS something that will not make sense. Why are there students that are trying to climb up the pole onto the roof? Who knows.
Why do you walk into your office and your desk has hundreds of little army men on it? Why did students put dirty socks in the vent of all the cabins? Why are students walking around camp, opening random doors, and shoving trees inside? Why are students always coming up to you talking about how beast mode they go in Fortnight?
No one will ever know. Some of the things that teenage kids do for fun, especially at a church camp or youth ministry night, will never not confuse me. Youth Pastors will forever play games that force their students to eat gross stuff. Why? Because it is hilarious.
This kind of confusion and absolute chaos may initially turn some adults away from serving or participating in student ministries. However, let me tell you, it is most definitely worth every ounce of pain and exhaustion to chase after these kids however possible.
These students need the love of Jesus. They need to be relentlessly pursued. They will disobey and do very (not smart) things behind your back. They do first and ask for permission afterwards. But they are still so in need of the gospel.
The chaos and confusion is what brings kids closer to Jesus Christ. Please, if you are an adult – even if you don’t think you’re “good” at it or have the energy for it – I challenge you to continue pouring into students. Jesus will sustain you through the mess.
- Full-Time ministry is HARD.
This might be one of the hardest jobs on the planet. Pizza parties and all the fun aside, ministry is incredibly challenging.
Related Book: Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry by Paul Tripp
This is a high pressure job with stakes that go beyond any other profession. If you sign up for ministry, you are signing up for a life and death fight for the souls of other people. God wants to use you to bring his message.
There are constantly people who won’t care to hear you, they won’t respect you, and you can never do anything right. Parents will always find a way to be upset, other ministry teams will have a hard time finding unity with one another, and every time you pour yourself empty for someone there is always another person behind them in line.
There is a heavy burden that you will have to carry. Anxiety is also high and it is very easy to lose perspective of things around you. Ministry is also physically taxing sometimes, especially when people in the church need help moving or if there is a large event to set up for.
There are a lot of late nights and early mornings. You are always having to create time to read and write content for teaching; then you have to practice that teaching; then you have to deliver that teaching, and deliver it very well; then you have to make every person in the crowd feel known and loved.
Ministry is hard. But I challenge you to take the step of faith anyways if you are thinking that God is leading you there. You’ll be spent and tired, but you will be well rewarded.
- Ministry is awesome.
Ministry is so much fun for a career. At the end of the day, with the proper calling from God and passion for people, ministry will be an extremely fun job with lots of rewards. You will see God change hearts and you will play a role in forever impacting someone’s life.
You get to spend time with Jesus and get paid for it. You get to sit across the table with new people everyday and hear their stories. You can practically care for those around you. You can help someone else grow in their faith.
Full-time ministry is so worth it. There are a lot of ministers who crumble under the hardship and pressure, but with the proper support system and mindset it is possible to thrive in this environment.
Seeing behind the curtains of a church is not totally a bad thing. No church is perfect, and you are sure to find things out about the leadership that you disagree with. Don’t let this take away the joy of seeing Christ work in whoever you minister to.
Whether or not you work in full-time ministry, you can still experience some of these things. One of the greatest parts about this job is that part of the job description is to train up new leaders for the work of ministry.
We are responsible to pass the torch to the next generation. It is a great feeling when you teach someone the word and they go on to help someone else. There is no other feeling like it!
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