Two months ago, I quit my job as a youth minister at a church in order to follow God’s will and move back to St. Louis to help out with my family. The last two months has been an extremely interesting time for me, as I graduated college and moved in with my grandparents transitionally, assisted in the transferring of my sister’s custody from my parents, and am learning what it means to rest and not do anything. I am job-seeking and often discouraged, because I miss doing ministry and can’t see my life doing anything else.

 Here are some things I miss about doing youth ministry (in no particular order):

• Sword fights with middle school boys. 
• Being in a library surrounded by exegetical commentaries. 
• Having crazy stories to tell my friends and anyone else I force to listen about this week’s hilarious thing that happened to me/a youth. 
• Rolling my eyes as the girls seek out “potential suitors” for me 
• Teaching thrice a week…I love teaching. 
• Discipling teenage girls one-on-one. 
• Answering relationship advice from boys. 
• Getting random gifts.
• Helping students through sin in their life. 
• “Excuses/Reasons” to be constantly in the Word. 
• Being invited over for home cooking.
• Students making fun of me because my car makes weird noises. 
• “Thirsty Thursdays”—picking up teens from school and going to Sonic for happy hour. 
• Commenting on every single one of their Facebook statuses…haha 
• Feeling essential in their life when they need prayer for someone I don’t even know. 
• I even miss being used as a chauffeur when they want to go to a sports game or concert and “need a responsible adult” to go with them. 
• All-nighters.
• Forcing Christian rap upon impressionable students.
• Conversations about spiritual gifts.
• That moment when I throw out some Greek and the HS boys think I’m legit. 
• Working through crazy analogies with students, like “spiritual pants.”  I still am unsure about that one. 
• Challenging students.
• Being made fun of because I’m from the “hood.”
• Building relationships with parents. Definitely one of my favorite things. 
• Coming to my pastor when I’m worn out and venting without his judgment and getting straight-up counsel.
• Thirty Hour Famine, camp, VBS, missions projects, all that good stuff.
• I even miss complaining. I must be crazy.
• The cards, notes, Facebook posts/messages, and hugs of encouragement from parents and other adults in the church.