What does a youth pastor do?
A Youth Pastor is focused on offering spiritual guidance. They also ensure that the youth ministry is functioning in an effective and focused manner.
Youth pastor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real youth pastor resumes:
- Develop, provide oversight and lead all ministries for middle school and high school students and their parents.
- Plan monthly activities, summer camp, teen VBS, and other schedule events.
- Offer help with additional CRBC events and services (funerals, VBS, etc.
- Create PowerPoint presentations for community and area businesses at community meetings.
- Develop all graphics and designs for sermon PowerPoint presentations and ministry events.
- Maintain regular office hours with primary responsibility being given to leadership within the congregation.
- Develop deacons in fulfilling their respective leadership obligations.
Youth pastor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Youth Pastors are proficient in Outreach Events, Disciple, and Youth Program.
We break down the percentage of Youth Pastors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Outreach Events, 20%
Worked with other church leadership in developing congregational activities and events, congregational education events, local outreach events.
- Disciple, 12%
Worked with parents & student leaders to help disciple students.
- Youth Program, 11%
Schedule, prepare curriculum/activities and participate in midweek youth programs.
- Bible Study, 6%
Facilitated a 12-step recovery Bible study/support group to homeless in our community.
- Oversight, 4%
Vacation Bible School Director- recruited and implemented curriculum, managed volunteers, budget oversight, purchased and distributed supplies.
- Public Speaking, 4%
Experienced in public speaking in front of dozens of Youth Groups, College Groups, and Churches.
Common skills that a youth pastor uses to do their job include "outreach events," "disciple," and "youth program." You can find details on the most important youth pastor responsibilities below.
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Compare different youth pastors
Youth pastor vs. Chaplain resident
A Chaplain Resident provides emotional and spiritual care to patients, families, and staff. They help families and other groups of people to deal with issues of crisis, grief, death, and bereavement.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between youth pastors and chaplain resident. For instance, youth pastor responsibilities require skills such as "outreach events," "disciple," "youth program," and "bible study." Whereas a chaplain resident is skilled in "patients," "clinical pastoral education," "spiritual care," and "residency." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that chaplain residents earn slightly differ from youth pastors. In particular, chaplain residents are 34.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a youth pastor. Additionally, they're 3.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Youth pastor vs. Elder
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that youth pastor responsibilities requires skills like "outreach events," "disciple," "youth program," and "bible study." But an elder might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "vital signs," "blood pressure," "caregiver," and "home maintenance."
Elders earn similar levels of education than youth pastors in general. They're 2.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for youth pastors in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Christopher Foster
Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies, Graduate School of Theology and, Oral Roberts University
Despite the technological tools, with all the bells and whistles, technology must remain relational and dialogical.
Youth pastor vs. Rabbi
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a youth pastor is likely to be skilled in "outreach events," "disciple," "youth program," and "bible study," while a typical rabbi is skilled in "life cycle events," "hillel," "outreach program," and "adult education classes."
Rabbis make a very good living in the education industry with an average annual salary of $36,824. On the other hand, youth pastors are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $39,451.When it comes to education, rabbis tend to earn higher degree levels compared to youth pastors. In fact, they're 15.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Youth pastor vs. Worship leader
Types of youth pastor
Updated January 8, 2025
