This guest post is by Carl Jones, who also blogs at http://youthguy07.blogspot.com/.  Some, all, or none of this may apply to your youth work, but we especially loved his commitment to attending youth events outside of church activities. We think this is an important element missing from many youth ministries. Enjoy!

In the years since the 1970s  when “Youth Pastor” became an actual profession that people could aspire to, one question has been asked of those who choose that path far more than any other.

The question is this: “What do you do all day?” It is often asked with the expectation that the answer will be, “Nothing”. It is usually asked by the youth themselves, but occasionally by their parents, the congregation, or under rare and very dangerous circumstances, by the Senior Pastor. (TIP: If your Senior Pastor is asking, it may be time to polish up the old resume!)

I spent 28 years doing youth work, and I can tell you that the answer is much more complicated than most people might realize. In fact, I submit that Youth Pastors are often the most under-appreciated staff member in our churches. For myself and many other Youth Pastors, both professional and volunteer, the real answer to the question is…EVERYTHING!

Don’t believe me? Take a look at this list of some of the things I was asked to do during any given month at the churches I served. My tasks included, but were not limited to:

• Planning, directing and executing everything related to student ministry. This includes planning events, praying for students, going on retreats, feeding hungry teenagers, doing mission work, training adult volunteers, holding the hands of parents, drawing up budgets…I think you get the point. This usually takes no more than 80 hours a week…
• Serving as the fill-in preacher on rare scheduled occasions and every time the Senior Pastor woke up sick at 6 AM Sunday morning. The message? No one can “wing it” quite like a Youth Pastor!
• Having office hours. These exist for 2 reasons. One, so youth, their friends and the occasional parent can stop by,  hang out and talk to you about things both important and unimportant. Two, so the rest of the church staff has a place to drop in, complain and listen to great music. Plus, my office was always the one with candy…
• Driving the church van for the senior citizens groups and women’s groups of the church. Why me? Because I had logged thousands of miles in those vans without incident – and because they knew I would say yes after the Senior Pastor turned them down.
• Playing guitar & leading music during worship when the Contemporary Worship leader was sick or off interviewing at a church that was actually contemporary.
• Attending sporting events, concerts, dance recitals, poetry readings, cheerleading competitions, proms, spelling bees and hundreds of other events your youth are involved in. You go to support them and show them you care. Staying 3 hours to see one student dance at a ballet recital reminds you just how much you love them.
• Teaching other staff members how to use their computers. I knew very little about computers, but “very little” often made me an expert.
• Make the wild, creative and envelope pushing suggestions that really create chaos in staff meetings. I am serious. It is part of your job!
• Bringing creativity to worship. I wrote and directed dramas, made videos, introduced new music and taught volunteers how to run Media Shout. And then when they didn’t show up, I ran Media Shout!
• Support the Senior Pastor in his/her ministry. This is extremely important. With most pastors it is quite easy and in fact, a joy. With others, it is like pretending you actually understood the movie Inception. You smile and nod quite often, but you have no idea why.
• Setting up the sound system, video system or other technology in the Fellowship Hall for daytime events for outside groups because no one else on the staff ever learned how or ever wants to. (TIP: Stop learning how to do stuff)
• Make suggestions on ways to make the worship service more relevant for teenagers. This is done mostly to see the shocked expressions on other faces when you suggest that the youth are not just the church of tomorrow, but they are also part of the church right now. And also because you enjoy being laughed at…
• Be the one person on staff who works most every holiday and all summer long, because that’s when your students have the most available time.
• Fulfill the final line (often unwritten) of every Youth Pastor job description – “and whatsoever other duties as determined by the Senior Pastor and the Personnel Committee.” In other words, you get to do everything no one else wants to do!

Please understand – I am not complaining. I loved being in ministry for all those years, and I am sure my brothers and sisters in student ministry feel the same way. But I also hope everyone understands that being a Youth Pastor is hard work. They are missionaries to one of the largest mission fields around – the world of teenagers. And many of them – in my experience, the VAST majority – do all of these things in a spirit of love and service, because they want so badly for young people to know Jesus.

So there you go. A day in the life of a Youth Pastor is never, ever boring. But that is life with Jesus, isn’t it? Wild, crazy, unpredictable and a greater joy than anything you thought possible.

Carl Jones spent 28 years in youth ministry with the Society of Friends (Quakers), United Methodists and the United Church of Christ. He also served on staff with Young Life. He is currently a freelance writer and stay at home husband and father. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife of 25 years, Marilyn, and their 16 year old son Will.

Question: What’s something typical to a day in your life as a youth pastor/youth worker? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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