Called to be a Youth Minister from a Young Age

It’s thrilling to see so many ministry calling stories from around the world. Ethan is the most recent person that has testified to how God has called him to be a youth minister for Him. Youth ministry is an important part of ministry because our young men and women need godly guidance and counsel as they prepare to approach life in a culture that isn’t very fond of the gospel.

Hello, my name is Ethan Barber. I was born and raised in Pennsylvania. I am 19 years young, not old yet. I currently attend a leadership school in South Carolina, that allows us to figure out who we are in Christ. It is a nine-month program and so far it has opened up so many doors for ministry for me. I felt called to be a Youth Minister in March of 2015. God really placed that on my heart and I always had a passion for the youth. How I came to Christ was pretty cliché, but it happened, I was invited to a Youth Conference and was worshipping and praising God except I really had no understanding of what was happening. One of the speakers gave an altar call and asked if anyone had wanted to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior, and without hesitation I accepted Him. I had very little intellect of this whole Christianity thing, but it was not my first experience with the Lord. I grew up going to church with my mom, my two older brothers, and my great grandmother; she kind of was the glue to us all going… after she had passed away in 2009, my family had strayed away from God and the church. Now I am here on a mission to serve the Lord and expand the presentation of the Gospel.

I currently live in the United States of America, ministry in the U.S. can be very easy and challenging at times. Since us Americans have an immense amount of access to Bibles, resources, you name it we have it; therefore, that is my problem everyone has their own type of theology and some theology is not based on the word of God.

I was attending a Youth Conference and the Lord just grabbed ahold of me and said, “Ethan, I am calling, will you answer?” After I accepted Christ into my life, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues.

My ministry dream is simply to capture the next upcoming youth, I want to show how much God loves them and teach them Biblical truths and principles. I want to become a Youth Pastor.

I would proclaim the name of Youth Leader, just because I will affiliate most with the youth. When I was in my neighborhood apartment complex, I got to play some football with a bunch of kids and just fell in love with talking to them and ministering to them through a simple sport; God really ignited my passion for the youth.

I haven’t had really many challenges with my geographic area, I have been pretty stationary in my life. Other than moving to South Carolina to go to school. My local church has been a crucial impact in my ministry decision, there is an abundance of theological sound pastors and so much mentorship that I can adhere at my church. My mom and stepdad are supportive of my decision to go into vocational ministry and become a Youth Minister.

A scholarship from CLI will definitely be an imperative aspect in pursuing my ministry dreams. Having a free education and getting trained by a group of teacher/pastors who have plenty of experience will enhance my learning ability and my intellect going into ministry. A scholarship for me would mean so much, due to the fact that nothing is cheap in this world and finances are of course super tight. I would be honored and it would motivate me to want to keep going and furthering my Theological knowledge.

A few things that would be helpful as I pursue being a youth minister would just be that the Lord allows me to learn, and grow not only in the knowledge of His word but in my relationship with God. One prayer request would be that I never forget the reason why I am going to be a youth minister and never forgot the source to the order. Having a relationship with God and being really intentional in my devotional life will impact my ministry tremendously. A lot of the times we can get so wrapped up in our ministry that we forget the reason and the purpose we have of doing it; preaching the Gospel to all the nations correct? We must not fall into complacency with our ministry and forget all about God. I ask that your prayers be for me to continue following God and developing a relationship with Him.

You don’t have to be a called youth minister like Ethan. If God has called you to any role in the ministry, there’s a good chance you can benefit from the free ministry training offered at Christian Leaders Institute. Click here to enroll in our free courses now!