Let’s face it. Youth ministry is NOT for the faint of heart. Here are some of the scariest things that have happened to real youth pastors.* Reader beware!

• Scheduling Wednesday night at the roller rink, only to discover it’s adult night. 
• Hearing that song come on over the Spotify playlist. The unedited version. 
• A midnight phone call. From a seventh grade student. Who just wants to know if you play Smash Bros. 
• Saying something from stage you didn’t know was a brand-new innuendo.
• Your senior pastor sending you an email that says, “We need to talk.” And nothing else.
• Showing up dressed for the youth group costume party, only to realize you have a speaking part at the memorial taking place that morning.  
• Tagging who you thought was your guest speaker for your retreat in a social media post, only to discover it’s a really inappropriate comedian. 
• Scheduling your lock-in to end at 11 AM.
• Calling a student by the wrong name.
• Asking a student who attended your youth group for five years if it’s their first time visiting.
• Your accountant asking if you can explain the receipts. From the mission trip. Two years ago.
• Realizing you butt-dialed your associate pastor while out to dinner with your spouse. 
• Telling yourself the game won’t make anyone throw up. Regretting your decision to not bring a trash can on stage five seconds in. 
• Tapping a student with the church van because you didn’t know he was crouched in front of it.
• Hearing the next summer camp announced from the main stage. That you didn’t plan. Or budget for. 
• Finding three couches donated to the youth room. You’re pretty sure they came from the 50s. No one claims responsibility.
• Missing two students after playing sardines. You vaguely remember someone saying they were dating. 
• Attending a homeschool sporting event.
• Accidentally sending your lead pastor swear words, because talk-to-text translated your heart instead of your words.
• Having a student say an inappropriate joke in front of you that you find funny, but no, you can’t laugh or even smile at it.
• Being called by the bookkeeper and asked to explain your purchase of that super sexy pack.
• 20 minutes after youth group, you get a phone call from the parents of the last student to be picked up. They’re an hour away. 
• After having the same spring break week for the last 30 years, the school district decides to change it only after you bought tickets for the international mission trip.
• Senior graduation recommendation letter season.
• Getting invited to a junior high band recital.
• Having a deacon or elder invite you into a “serving opportunity for our young people.”
• A homeschool family inviting you to their boys’ Manhood Ceremony.
• Opening your desk drawer, and finding a check that is a six-month-old registration payment for camp for a student.
• Budget season (interesting how it often coincides with Halloween).
• Having a 15-year-old student introduce you to her 19-year-old “fiancé”.
• Having an 18-year-old student pitch you on their multi-level marketing scheme.

Spooky!

Happy Halloween! Or Happy Harvest Festival Day. Whatever works for your context.

*Names hidden to protect the funny circumstances and prevent senior pastor emails.