the things you do as a youth pastor

This may have been the most challenging week of my many years in ministry... our Senior Pastor is on vacation, and our Worship Pastor has been away. Due to the number of years and experiences I have had over the years in ministry, I was put in charge to "hold down the fort"! Monday we ministered to a family who needed a church family; the patriarch of the family died unexpectedly and they were without a church family. All week, I prepared for a Thursday funeral for a family I barely knew. Wednesday night, our church offices were broken into and all our computers were stolen... I have a laptop and by God's grace I had the machine with me. I preached 3 services today and officiated at an Eagle Scout ceremony for one of our youth. I guess I need to reexamine my job description. More importantly, I need to remember that when God "called" me to serve Him and I said "yes" He gave me unique gifts for me to use and share. He wants me... us to use our gifts for His glory. And sometimes, that means using your gifts outside the arena of student ministries. Don't allow people to limit your gifts and "call" to ministry. God will use you and wants to use all of your gifts to lift up the "body of Christ". Now that you've worked on the sabbath, make sure you find some sabbath rest this week. Sty tuned for more frequent posts and feel free to comment with questions or suggestions on blog ideas. Peace!