Youth ministry and campus ministry are both great ministries, with much more in common than separating them. The biggest difference that I have found is that schools take vacations, but churches almost never do! Getting to go home at night and stay home is definitely a gift for me! Also, working as a campus minister means I get to see the young people every day, which is a big advantage, as is working in the youth-centered environment of the high school.

In parish ministry, teams of people in the ministerial field have surrounded me. This can lead to greater support for the work. By contrast, school colleagues and administrators are great people, but they often do not understand the joys and challenges of theology and ministry. Colleagues in schools are often grappling with faith issues themselves, and can easily discount the value of “ministry time,” and take a swipe at the nearest target: the campus minister. In the parish I have felt more supported and understood from a professional standpoint; in the school, from a resource standpoint.

Twenty years in both ministries has taught me three lessons about gifts:

1. Education is a gift. A good education prepares you for a variety of youth ministry jobs. It will also serve your ministry to, for, and by youth, especially as you grow in your understanding of nuance and mystery over fundamentalism.
2. Everyone is a gift to your work whether they know it or not, whether they support it or not, whether they like it or not. God will use all of the gifts available, not just the ones that we are comfortable with.
3. Gifts are just that: gifts. Offer them to the service of God and the community.

I am grateful for the gift of being a youth minister and campus minister. I love what I do and learn something about the reign of God every day.