Reflections on My Ordination as a Youth Pastor

There have been many great things that have happened in my life that brought me great joy: the day I became a Christian, was baptized, graduated from college, married my wife, when my kids were born – and, most recently, when I was ordained as a minister of the gospel by my local church. This was so meaningful because, after years of exercising my gifts in service to God’s people, my pastoral calling was publicly recognized and affirmed.

This is ultimately why I wanted to be ordained as a youth pastor. I wanted to be perceived by the church as not some lay volunteer that keeps the teenagers of the church entertained. I wanted the church to see me as an official minister of the gospel who has been called by God to come alongside them and our pastor in the work of the ministry. Some benefits of being ordained as a youth pastor is that I am now a pastor who gets to perform baptisms, lead the church to partake of the Lord’s Supper, preach, officiate weddings and funerals in my pastor’s absence compared to a non-ordained youth pastor.  

I pursued ordination because I believe it is biblical to validate one’s calling and giftedness by God to preach and teach His word. Although there are numerous examples in Scripture, one example in the Old Testament was when God charged Moses to ordain Aaron and his sons to serve in the tabernacle (Exodus 29:9, 29, 35). In the New Testament, Paul mentioned how he had been appointed (ordained) as a preacher and an apostle in 1 Timothy 2:7. These confirm the biblical precedent for publicly validating ministers to serve God’s people. Ordination is simply the process by which godly leaders affirm one’s call and qualifications to serve God and His people in gospel ministry.

My pastor believed it was time for me and the church to move forward with the ordination process after observing the exercise of my spiritual gifts in the church and my leadership in my family. This is significant, for it says in 1 Timothy 3:15, “if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” My preparation also involved my enrollment at Spurgeon College, where I will be graduating with my Bachelors in Christian ministry soon. My ordination was affirmed after many intense conversations and examinations, because I have already been doing what one is supposed to do to demonstrate they have been called by God into the ministry.

I most certainly will never forget my ordination service. After starting off with corporate worship, one of the ordained pastors opened up in prayer and my pastor presented me before the congregation as the candidate to be ordained. I was then invited to come to the pulpit and share my personal testimony about when I became a Christian and when the Lord called me to preach His word and serve Him in ministry.

Then came the examination time led by my pastor in front of the whole congregation. My pastor asked me many theological questions about the Scriptures and also personal questions about me and my family when it comes to the ministry to examine if I was qualified to serve God in ministry. I had no idea what questions I would be asked but I was able to answer briefly from what the Bible says. The ordaining counsel really liked the answers I gave and after singing a few more songs, followed by prayer, one of the ordained men recommended me before the church to be ordained as a minister of the gospel and it was decided unanimously. Then the church voted to proceed with my ordination. We heard a great sermon from a man of God driven from the pastoral epistles where I was charged to preach the word in season and out of season. Afterwards, I knelt at the altar while the ordained men prayed their blessings over me and my ministry. Then I was given an ordination certificate, a new preaching Bible, and a special gift from the church for my wife that was followed up by a dessert fellowship after the benediction of the service.  

After it has all been said and done, it was a very special day where I was filled with a lot of joy in my heart. I know the ministry can be extremely challenging, and a strain on a man’s family. But there are also great joys a minister of the gospel gets to witness as they are used by God as instruments to proclaim His word and see lives changed. After being ordained as a youth pastor, I couldn’t help but think about what the apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:12 “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.” By God’s grace, I shall persevere in the ministry that He has entrusted to me so that I may finish well and hear the words from my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as I enter into my eternal home “well done thy good and faithful servant!”