Thinking About a Career Change Into Youth Ministry? Here’s What Teaching Taught Me

Dribble a basketball. There’s nicotine in cigarettes. Have a wide stance on defense. Throw a spiral. Run routes. Type 2 diabetes can be improved through diet and exercise. Use your forearm to hit a volleyball.

These are all topics I taught and centered my career around as a physical education teacher.

I was a P.E. teacher for almost 10 years. Honestly, I thought I was going to retire as a teacher. My journey to becoming a teacher was not easy, so when I finally became a teacher in Virginia, I assumed that was what I would be doing for the rest of my life. But, in true fashion, God had other plans.

A little more than four years ago, I was pregnant and needed to have a hard conversation with my husband about what we were going to do. Was I going back to work? Was I staying home? How much would daycare cost?

Spoiler alert: it cost about the same as my paycheck.

I also wasn’t feeling supported or loved in my teaching job, so every time we talked about it, I thought, “I can’t choose that over our daughter.” But we live in an expensive area, and we needed the income.

During that same season, I felt the Lord placing ministry on my heart. I had only ever worked with middle school students, so middle school ministry felt like the natural fit. At the time, I was the FCA huddle leader at my school, so ministry felt like an extension of what I was already doing.

The question was: where?

If you are thinking about a career change into youth ministry, you may be asking similar questions. Where would I serve? Am I actually qualified? Does my background make sense? Would my experience in another field really translate into ministry?

For me, teaching translated more than I expected.

God Showed Up Specifically

I grew up as a pastor’s kid, and I had always heard that when God calls you into ministry, you need to be willing to go anywhere. The problem was that I didn’t feel called anywhere else. I told the Lord I was open to ministry, but only at the church I had attended and been part of since I was a kid.

So, I prayed that the Lord would provide a middle school ministry position there. And that’s exactly what He did.

The day I told my principal I wasn’t returning, I received an email about the middle school ministry position 15 minutes later. That’s absolutely the Lord’s timing.

So that’s how I went from being a middle school physical education teacher to a middle school youth pastor. And it’s funny. When I became a middle school youth pastor, a lot of people’s reaction was, “Oh, so you’re not teaching anymore.”

But I am. I’m no longer teaching students how to dribble a basketball. I’m teaching them something far more important: how to walk with Jesus.

There is always a transition period when changing careers. But I genuinely believe teaching prepared me in so many ways for youth ministry. If you are considering a career change into youth ministry, your current job may be preparing you more than you realize.

Here are 6 things that have helped me in ministry that I took away from teaching.

1. Teenagers Are More Complex Than We Realize

When I was a teacher, I was obviously the leader in the room, the facilitator, and one of the primary influences in my students’ lives. Still, one thing I learned very quickly was that the middle schoolers I worked with were far more complex than I ever gave them credit for. They were carrying way more than they should.

As a youth pastor, it’s the exact same thing.

You are the leader, the facilitator, and the influencer. But if you’re paying attention, your students will show you far more about who they are and what they’re going through than you might expect. They are carrying anxiety, insecurity, social pressure, friendship issues, family struggles, trauma, and so much more.

The first camp I attended as a youth pastor, I was sitting in a small group with some middle school girls. I was amazed at what these sixth and seventh graders were navigating. It broke my heart. But it also reminded me that I needed to give them more credit and have a greater awareness of what they were carrying.

I remember telling my husband after camp, “These students are only 11 and 12 years old, but they’re dealing with problems that feel like 19- and 20-year-old problems.”

That realization changed the way I approached ministry.

I need to be able to support them. I need to create space for them to talk about those things. And I need to make sure that space is marked by love and grace rather than shame and guilt.

2. Choose Your Battles

Honestly, this is a life hack for everything, but especially when working with teenagers. This is something I learned early on as a teacher. If every little thing becomes a huge deal, you’re going to make yourself and your students miserable. You have to decide what your “battles” are.

You absolutely need to set expectations and establish the tone for your group. But you also have to decide what you’re going to consistently care about and address.

Here are some examples of battles worth fighting:

• Safety during games and activities
• A student continuously calling out and disrupting the group
• Respecting leaders and other students
• Students excluding others
• Inappropriate behavior
• Gossip

Just like a teacher has different classes, youth pastors have different seasons of students. Sometimes your battles need to change based on the group you have, and that’s okay.

Give yourself grace. Give your students grace. But also, be clear about the expectations for your space and what it means to be part of your group.

This is one of the reasons teaching can be such strong preparation for youth ministry. You learn that leadership is not just about correcting everything. It is about knowing what matters most in the room and leading toward that with consistency.

3. Play, Play, Play

Something that has had a huge impact on my career as a youth pastor is creating games.

Games and play are a huge part of what P.E. is all about. I love a good game. I love facilitating games. Few things bring me more joy than watching students play games and seeing the instructions challenge them to do their best while having fun. Games have become my love language.

I love the creativity that comes with creating a game. I love figuring out new ways to use the same equipment. And I really love how games bring out different personalities in students.

Being a P.E. teacher also taught me how to think through all the different elements of a game:

• What location works best for this game?
• What equipment do we need?
• What are the instructions?
• Do we need any modifications?
• How can this game be improved?
• How long should we play each round?

I’m so grateful for my background in games and play because they are such a key part of setting the tone in your ministry environment.

I’ve seen games break down walls. I’ve seen games help students make friends. More than just that, I’ve seen games reveal leadership skills, competitiveness, creativity, and confidence that I never would have seen otherwise. I love seeing how different games bring out different sides of students.

So, play the game.

Yes, play the messy game.

Even play the game that sounds a little crazy.

Play, play, play.

4. Give a Fresh Start Each Day

There are hard days.

As a teacher, there were days when a student had terrible behavior or was disrespectful, and we had to have a hard conversation. And then the next day, they were right back in your class.

The same thing happens in youth ministry.

You have to give your students a fresh start every time they walk into your space. Just like I had to give my students a fresh start in the classroom, I have to give my students in youth group a fresh start every week.

And when you do that, you’ll often find that they start giving you a fresh start too. It’s a skill that takes time to learn, but it makes a huge difference in the culture of your ministry. It sets the expectation that we’re all going to have hard days, but those hard days do not define us. Honestly, that’s exactly what our students need to see, learn, and experience from us.

One thing that has helped me with this is praying before programming starts. Before I walk into church, I intentionally pray for the students who have been difficult recently. I ask the Lord to soften my heart, help me extend grace, and make it easier for me to see them the way He does.

Almost every time, those students end up being some of the first students to arrive. I get the opportunity to greet them personally, have a quick conversation, and start the day on a better note.

It’s a small habit, but it has made a big difference for me.

5. Every Student Learns Differently

Every single student is different.

When I was a teacher, I had to modify lessons for students with disabilities, gifted students, English language learners, and students who needed physical adaptations. And, to be honest, I found making those modifications time-consuming and frustrating at times. I would spend a significant amount of time adapting a lesson for a student, only for them to be absent that day.

But over time, it became the standard that was ingrained in my mind: How can I make this lesson meet all my students where they are?

That same mindset applies to youth ministry.

All of our students are different, and all of our students learn differently. Creating games that engage both introverts and extroverts is important. Building response time into your programming for both the talkative students and the quiet students is important. Making sure your small group leaders are aware of disabilities within their group and have a plan if a student becomes overwhelmed or needs a break is important.

You want all of your students to feel welcome. Just like I had to adapt lessons in P.E. to help my students understand the material and feel seen, I need to do the same thing in my youth ministry programming.

Here are some ways you can adapt your programming for different types of learners:

• Use more pictures for visual learners.
• Use shorter, clearer instructions instead of long explanations.
• Use music to reinforce a lesson or create an atmosphere.
• Allow movement during lessons for students who need it.
• Use repetition for students who struggle with focus or processing information.
• Build flexibility into your lesson based on who is in the room.

It takes time to adapt a lesson. Additionally, it takes time to adapt a game. It takes time to adjust your response time. It takes time to communicate a plan to your leaders if Johnny gets overstimulated and needs a break. But it is worth it.

Because when students feel seen, understood, and considered, they are much more likely to engage with what you’re trying to teach them.

6. Discipline Is Usually About Something Deeper

As both a teacher and a youth pastor, you’re going to come into contact with students who struggle behaviorally. In both school and church, there need to be expectations and boundaries. Ideally, students know those expectations from the very beginning.

Most of the time in education, we’re taught to discipline and move on.

To be honest, that never worked very well for me.

The students who continually acted out often kept acting out because the discipline itself wasn’t addressing the real issue. Most of the time, their behavior wasn’t really about answering a question, turning in homework, or participating in an activity. It was about something deeper.

When a student is struggling behaviorally, there is often more going on beneath the surface than simply not wanting to participate.

One of the biggest lessons I learned as a teacher, and one that has helped me tremendously in youth ministry, is to have a conversation before handing out discipline. It’s amazing what you can learn when you simply create space and ask questions.

I would often start with questions like:

• “I noticed you’re distracted today. Is everything okay?”
• “You seem to be having a hard time keeping your hands to yourself today. Is something bothering you?”
• “You don’t seem like yourself. Did something happen before church today?”
• “Your small group leader mentioned you’ve been quieter than usual lately. Is there something you’d like to talk about?”

When you give students the opportunity to explain themselves and talk about what’s going on, you’ll often see their attitude soften. More importantly, you’ll gain insight into what they’re navigating, whether that’s friendships, family struggles, school stress, or life in general.

That kind of awareness matters in any classroom, but it matters deeply in ministry. Students do not just need correction. They need shepherding. They need someone willing to ask what is happening beneath the behavior.

God Has Prepared You for This

Really, what I’m trying to get at here is that God has prepared you for what He has you doing now. That’s the lesson from my story.

Being a teacher has truly shaped the way I do ministry. Teaching helped me better understand students, communicate more clearly, extend more patience, and offer fresh starts when they’re needed. The classroom taught me how to better see my students. Youth ministry gave me the opportunity to shepherd them.

And while your story may not be the same trajectory, there’s a strong chance God is utilizing the same strategy.

Maybe you are thinking about a career change into youth ministry and wondering if your background makes sense. Perhaps you have been a teacher, coach, counselor, parent, volunteer, or something completely different. It’s possible you’re looking at your current season and wondering how any of it could connect to ministry.

But nothing you’ve been through is an accident, even the hard things.

God may be using your current work to prepare you for future ministry in ways you cannot fully see yet. The habits you are building, the people you are learning to love, the patience you are developing, and the skills you are using may all become part of how you serve students later.

God has prepared you for this, and He’s still preparing you for the next chapter.

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