A Youth Minister's Job is Never Done

I know there are many youth ministers out there or other pastors, people who work for the church, etc., who understand the "frustration" of never being able to leave your work at work. I say this in quotes because it is also the greatest blessing at times.

When I worked for the Young Life Service for an 8 to 5 job, I was able to leave my cubicle, turn off my computer and go home, and actually be home. I wasn't thinking about the phone calls I answered that day or the addresses I updated in the database. I was just home.

But when I go home now, I worry about students who wander around a middle school social and never talk to another kid in the room. I wonder about their struggles - are they uncomfortable with their ever-changing bodies? Do they wonder if people care about them?

I ache for a girl who's parents were 45 minutes late picking her up. And as she was crying on the curb, what do you say?

Or what can you do when one of the great and most talented 8th grade kids I've ever met has just had his heart broken by another really great Christian girl?

Even more so... How do you know that showing up for lunch once a week and seeking kids out is really showing Jesus to them? Do they get it?

How do you encourage the girl whose father passed away to cancer, how do you tell her that Heavenly Father loves her, cares for her, and desires that she would climb into His arms, when all she probably wants is to feel her father's embrace again?

Do you ever wonder if your life is making a difference in the lives of other people? I know that my work will never be done. I'll never be able to say at the end of the year, "Well, I'm done." Our work will never be done. I know this because God is continually working in me. And if He's still working on me, then He must still be seeking after these kids. And I guess it's okay that my work is never done - because it's not my work anyway.

I love kids. I guess I'm a cryer like Adam. :)