Man seeks church Youth pastor job
I am a 31 year old single man with, no family, no kids.
I have a good paying job and work 72-100 hrs and just feel I want to do something like influence youth. I saw a opening for a pt youth pastor at my small 200 member church, but have no theology degree, & not much experience. There is also a ft sub teacher position at a school avail. I would do both jobs.
I've not been part of youth ministry in maybe 5 years. I used to be a leader of young men at a previous church for a few years until some personal things and my work schedule got in the way and I had to unfortunately give it up at the time. When I was doing it, I felt the most fulfilled I've ever been. I have very limited time ever working with youth due to my rigorous schedule as an adult and no ministerial training. I would essentially do that job for free if I could get the tentative promise of the full time job in the future because that is where my heart is.
The church I am currently at has 200 members and about 20 youth. There is a possibility later on in the future for that position to go full time.
Finding a wife and having kids is a goal. Influencing and changing the lives of youth is where I've felt God wanted me since I was 11 and I'm finally I'm seeing a path to do it that here. I also intend to take online classes to further my few credits I have and eventually get my teaching degree.
For the teacher position I am willing to take a huge pay cut to work there for $15/hr, and because of where I work right now, I get free college online. But am nowhere near AA degree.
This has been a prayer for years and would prefer it over any job or career path I've had or considered, and the ministry one is eternally minded.
Advice on how to get the job?
A: Well maybe not on how to get the job but I do have other advice. I would note that should you pursue this, you should contact the pastor to meet over coffee or tea at your home when he has some time during the week, and do not approach him about this during church days.
My first 🤔 is on if you were always interested in this since a young age, why haven't you gotten further in ministry at the church yet, usually one builds up a career in that with even ling term volunteer work while a teen. Why havent you done that for 17 years already? Were you chasing money over eternal things, or were you doing that to live minimally while saving up for money for when you are married and to pay for college?
Second, if you had any law trouble, no church would allow someone who was in juvie or jail to be around youth or girls. Even if your life has changed by Christ, it is a liability for the church. And you do have to divulge that info. You would never be able to be alone with the youth, even the boys, so this might not be the career path for you. They would need 2 people in that job to allow you to work with youth. You can give your testimony to them but maybe thats it tbvh.
Next, I would say that pastoral position should be for someone with at least a Bachelors or Masters in Theology and an ordained Pastor. All the youth pastors I know have ever all had that.
Where is the Sub teaching, at Christian school, your church school or a public school. Because if public and you are Christian they will fire you or they will try to wear you down to do pronouns and embrace lies, and have to deal with the staff who embraced those doctrines of demons.
For teaching, if the school you go to requires part of your salary to go to kids supplies (since many schools dump those costs on a low paid teacher vs budgeting for the students needs in school budget), have you looked into teacher forums to see what that actually costs them out of pocket so you know what $ you would have to survive?
How much do you have saved up from your huge paying job? Is it enough for you to go to college ft to get that degree while being a non paid pt youth leader in that church position? Do you need to sell your home, car and other things to live minimal life until you have a degree and are are in a ft youth pastor job? Have you looked at or have knowledge of the church budget (have you been in finance meetings and know what consistent $ the church and future budgeted needs are for building upkeep and other expenses) to see where or if there would be funds for your job in the future? Is there a current evangelism pastor for outreach and the church on board with actively witnessing in town on weekends and the retired folk out during the week, or all congregants heavily involved in witnessing in daily lives or are they pew sitters? If not your church likely won't grow. 200 members is not a lot considering today's church sizes across various denominations. That range usually has a lot of older folk and the younger ones Are busy earning a living and raising kids and focused on sports vs evangelism. Many in churches today are false converts so the church doesnt grow.
You cannot bank on that position becoming full time... it is a "if", and if that church hasnt grown in years it is not likely to do so, though only God knows. You do need to seriously think out and pray on this because this is not a paid job, and you are not married & have no kids, so parents would see that as a red flag to your wanting to be around youth and teens. Christians would think you should be focused on the future to save & provide well for your future spouse... and the decisions you make now will affect your savings for that and free time to find a wife and spend proper time with her (as a newlywed and in general), and your home family as your main ministry.
Most people I know who felt lead to Youth Ministry, especially at a young age and started doing what they can when they could since back then.
I saw an 11 yr old asking John MacArthur on a Q& A evening service asking about what age was JMac or good age when a man usually considers ministry. It was courageous of him to do that in front of that massive congregation, and the answer was good as well.
Don Green had some good advice for ministry minded men of today because he like others have a reasonable grasp on what is coming.
Deliberately provocative and unqualified statements of admittedly unsolicited advice to young Christian men:
In no particular order:
1. Do not undertake the study of New Testament Greek. Use your time to read systematic and historical theology instead.
2. Do not go into ministry. Too much difficulty, opposition, and violence lay ahead.
3. If you are a new Christian, do not seek a girlfriend for at least two years. You need time alone in the wilderness with the Lord before you are ready for a wife and family.
4. Set your priorities to read through the Bible at least once a year for the rest of your life, and preferably more often than that.
5. Make your overriding purpose in prayer not to get things from God but simply to submit to His will. You exist for His purpose; He does not exist for yours.
So you will need to decide what extreme hardships you are willing to endure for this job, and other considerations. If you take it you cant just cut and run because it will damage the faith of all the youth who looked up to you and now see you in church back to your old life "not caring" about them anymore.
If you go ahead and on the chance God gives you that job (either to show it is not for you or that it is) I highly encourage you to:
1. Remember the pastor might not even feel you are doing a good enough job in the position and not keep you in that pt job, perhaps only to be a assistant to a youth pastor for teen boys events or maybe just as brother Joe Shmo who is positive towards the youth and gives biblical advice to the youth he encounters occasionally. It might sour your feelings at that church unless you admit and accept that God isnt calling you to paid ministry nor to ft ministry.
2. If that youth position isnt paid and not full time right now, are willing to do the youth position on your free time like other volunteer Sunday School teachers and work a regular job?
3. If going for pastoral work of any kind, go get your degree in Theology asap.
Have you thought about looking into free colleges and free yourself from going to the public school cesspool just for college money? You can get BA in Business then a MA in Education at UOP online www.uopeople.edu or then a MA in theology with Trinity Bible college Having some affordable basic classes at all levels you could start out with while doing youth work pt. And if the church can't pay you pt maybe they could pay your books and fees for the free college while you are working towards your BA and possibly also towards the MA at the free college while you work pt as a youth leader while you start at the bottom, but while giving proper dedication to the pt youth role too, being accountable to God for all of that, being a man of integrity and doing all of it as working for the Lord.
4. If you get the youth pastor job
A. Teach against lgbt+ with proper resources to do so such as here
https://snsanswers.blogspot.com/2022/10/identity-crisis.html
B. go through and use the books and videos of J Warner Wallace to "solidify the faith" of youth and hit the important faq that usually "without knowing those" the kids by 13 or after HS leave the faith.
*Free peeks here
http://longertweets.blogspot.com/2022/08/ccc-investigate.html
*His resources are at amazon. And nearby churches might let you borrow His certian other videos to save money, if they use him, or you could
*work w area churches to put together a Solidify your Faith Conference to go through those books & videos courses over a period of time on Sunday afternoons (every year).
*Perhaps while studying for college you can just do occasional things like that with the youth, that truly helps them, and then when you go ft after your degree that you can add to that annual program by ministering with the focus on teaching Jesus and dealing with the hard questions and issues of today's youth. So they can be prepared to stand on their faith even if in public schools, public colleges and in jobs where companies drank the pronoun kool-aid.
C. Teach them the importance of their involvement at the local Church
https://snsanswers.blogspot.com/2022/10/church-matters.html
D. Teach them the Gospel so they clearly understand it well so they can gratefully grasp at and receive it.
http://longertweets.blogspot.com/2022/09/explains.html
5. Go ask advice on facebook groups about this matter from senior church pastors and youth pastors and those in pt youth ministry too, they'll give you a more helpful reality, coming from the bottom and a look at what you need to consider and what they're expecting not only of the future but also of a person wanting to start in youth ministry.
They could guide you on resume help but there isnt anything string you can put on it since you really have no experience. Have you seen the job posting and requirements? I'm sure their will be others the church interviews with better experience who will apply. 💥But take these mens advice, they'll be led by God to do so.
And if you are serious about this path you will need to make sacrifices perhaps change jobs if you can't just work 8 hrs a day, and use your time get that free college and do volunteer work at the church assisting whoever is hired for the youth job until you are qualified. You could change churches at that time as well. Go where God moves you.
6. PS. If you have a juvie or jail record, you will never be able to be a youth leader nor pastor because no church in todays climate nor in the past would (ever) let someone be alone around children, teens or women in church, as a teacher, or at conferences, the liability is too great. If that is your case, that you have had law trouble, then you could only be able to be brought in by a youth pastor to give your salvation testimony and bounce. or to be brought in during a conference or summer event to give your salvation testimony &/or a advice to youth speech (pre approved by the pastor) and bounce [go home]. You can't linger or stay behind at all.
Perhaps the only or best thing you could do is write a book, with your pastors blessing in it b4 publishing it. And provide it free to the youth pastor to give to the youth from age 10 to 18.
