Monthly Archives: January 2009

Defining the Job Description

“What exactly do you do?” This is a question I get asked frequently. People know I am a Youth Pastor, but they don’t understand what I am doing on a daily basis. My job description isn’t defined in their mind.

An Internet search of job descriptions for Youth Pastors will only add to the confusion. When looking for young men to pastor their students, churches list things like “a heart for the youth of America.” Or someone “who thinks outside the box.” Hmm. With qualifications like these almost anyone could apply, including most Taco Bell employees. So many job descriptions say things like “working with students” or “working with parents” or “working with the rest of the church staff,” but it is not clear what youth pastors are supposed to be working on.

To be honest, I think that many Youth Pastors are confused about their own job. They don’t know how to organize their time in their office every day. They would tell you ministry is about more than games, knowing the latest trends and getting students excited. But how would they really define what they do?

Fortunately, this is not a question we are left to figure out for ourselves. Scripture is clear on what pastors are supposed to do. Paul tells a young pastor like Timothy (

) exactly how to conduct his ministry in the church. Here’s the context:

- Command and teach these things.

- Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

- Watch your life and your doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Now, I know that Timothy is the pastor of the whole church, including people who are older than him, but the job description here applies to all pastors: teach the Bible! Or as Paul puts it in

, “Preach the Word!” Sure, as youth pastors we will direct our preaching towards a younger audience. We will say “dude” more. We will talk about going to high school instead of going to work. We will give illustrations referring to Facebook or text messaging. But why do we completely change the role of pastor just because we put “youth” in front of it?

The first thing that should come to our minds when we hear the phrase “Youth Pastor” is a Bible teacher to teenagers. Youth Pastors should give themselves to the ministry of the word and to prayer (

). They should spend more time studying Scripture in books than the culture of youth through screens. The truth is if youth pastors in America were to think of their job like this we would start a worldwide revival that could not be stopped!

High school is four short years. We can try to provide safe places for students to hang out but they won’t stay long. We can administrate camps and activities but they will soon be forgotten. We can work hard to get students whipped up into an emotional frenzy but this will always fade with time. The Word of God lasts forever. Let’s invest ourselves in getting the Bible into student’s lives. At least then, we will really be doing something.