Youth Minister
(Male, Age 28) from Tampa, NY
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Male aged 28 who works as a Youth Minister in Tampa, NY. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Youth Minister |
|---|---|
| Salary | $36,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 60 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Tampa, NY |
| Years Experience | 5 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
I work for Village Presbyterian Church. Our Church has approx. 300 congregation members and a staff of about 6. Our goal is to positively affect our surrounding community, and assimilate new members. We would probably be classified as a non profit social justice organization.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
My job is to develop, nurture, and facilitate relationships with young people from grades 6 to college graduation. I write curriculum to teach, counsel the young people, and create an environment that is viewed by the young people as safe and open.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
Full health insurance, continuing education budget, professional expense account, flexible hours
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
well
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes! My job is very relational, and I love it. I get to meet and talk with different people all day long. A lot of my job is spent being with people. Listening to, talking to, and supporting them.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I have an office at the church, but I spend a great deal of time in coffee shops, fast food joints and on school campuses. I travel all over town.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 7
Benefits: 6
Hours: 5
Co-Workers: 3
Supervisors: 4
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 1
The Actual Work: 1
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | Reading Bible, taking notes, and preparing for the day. Getting my head in the right space, and transitioning my thinking between my personal and professional life. |
| 8am to 9am | Answering emails, returning phone calls, preparing for the days meetings |
| 9am to 10am | Writing curriculum and doing research. This involves surfing the web for articles relating to people that fall within the age group I work with. Information is so important in my job. This includes researching and attempting to understand cultural trends, as well as utilizing social media networks to discover what is going on in the lives of the young people I work with. |
| 10am to 11am | Meeting with support volunteers, special event planning. I meet with volunteers to assign them tasks that ensure our evening meetings run smoothly. During this time we also create special events like lock-ins, rallys, parties, etc. We then delegate the work load for these events, and confirm our communications network, so that details do not fall through the cracks. |
| 11am to 12pm | Lunch Break! Time to eat! |
| 12pm to 1pm | Staff meeting. During this time, the Church staff meets to communicate amongst the different ministry areas. My boss also assigns tasks to ensure the church as a whole operates smoothly. |
| 1pm to 2pm | Meeting with young people. This involves traveling to where the young people are, be it a school campus, a local eatery, or coffee shop. During these meetings, I invest in young people’s lives by listening to their problems and getting a basic understanding of what is happening in their lives. |
| 2pm to 3pm | Meeting with young people. Again, I travel to where the young people are, sit down with them, and just let them know I care and I am involved in their lives. |
| 3pm to 4pm | Meeting with young people. More of the same. Travel, meet, invest, listen, counsel, advise. |
| 4pm to 5pm | Preparing for evening classes. At this point I take the previously created lesson material and review it. Since I write several weeks in advance, I need to remind myself what it is exactly I am teaching that evening. |
| 5pm to 6pm | Evening classes. During this time I teach lessons, play games and eat diner with young people. |
| 6pm to 7pm | Evening classes. This is a continuation of the 5-6pm hour block. Classes usually last 2 whole hours. |
| 7pm to 8pm | Evening classes. continued. |
| 8pm to 9pm | Meeting with parents. During this time, I connect and have conversations with the families of the young people I work with. I listen to issues the young people are having at home, and try to bridge the gap. |
| 9pm to 10pm | Meeting with parents. Because I have many young people, I consequently have many parents to meet with. I also use this time to clean up the facility after classes. |
| 10pm to 11pm | Not Working. I’m at home spending time with my family. Walking my dog. |
| 11pm to 12am | Not Working. Sleeping. |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
IInternet ministry job site
What was the application process?
Numerous interviews, sample sermon deliveries, and a written application and statement of faith
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes. I had to meet with several committees, involving church elders and staff, a youth ministry search team, parents of current young people, and young people involved in the ministry. The interview process was extensive.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
I was asked what I believed, what my philosophy of youth ministry was, and how I intended to handle specific fictional situations.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes, though this job is very dynamic and really depends on the lives and personalities of the young people you work with, so my employer can only prepare you for eventualities, not for everything the job entails.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Yes. Schooling, volunteering, previous work experience in the field.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
There are many ways to do my job, and each person who does it approaches it differently. The more education the better. The beauty of what I do is that it is relational, so whatever education you have works for you.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
N/A
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Get involved in a local church, and volunteer to get a feel for it.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Empathy, Strong conviction, organizational skills are a must. Youth ministry requires you juggle a lot of responsibilities at once.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
More education is always better. I reccomend an undergrad degree and possibly a seminary degree
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Be patient. Listen more than you talk. Love young people.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes. I plan to become a Minister, so this is good practice. It is much of the smae work for two different audiences.
What are your current career goals?
I plan to finish Seminary, and become a Minister. I want to lead my own church.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Nope.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | English Teacher | 1 Year | 30000 | Teaching High School English to at risk students |
| Prior Job 2 | Youth Minister | 2 Years | 25000 | Much of what I do now. Work with and minister to young people |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:4
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.8 | University of South Florida | English |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
3.99 | Asbury Theological Seminary | M.DIV |
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