There's a greater reward than money

For as long as I've worked in the youth development field, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say, "Yeah, I actually feel like I'm getting paid what I'm worth." More often it's comments like, "They don't pay me enough for this," or, "We're sure not in this for the money." The natural mindset that's built into us by our culture is that your monetary compensation should be equivalent to the value of your work. Or in an agricultural metaphor, you reap what you sow. But what happens when the world doesn't place a very high value on your work? What if they don't realize how important it is for youth to have mentors, positive role models and influential adults in their lives? Then you end up getting paid more like a babysitter than a youth development professional. As a result you get less and less qualified people influencing your children because the qualified people have to go make their living doing something else.

Now this may sound like a complaint or a rant, but it's quite the opposite. Because the truly qualified people are those who understand that the compensation for being a positive, influential role model in the lives of young people can never be measured monetarily. We truly don't do it for the money. Not because they don't pay us enough, but because the true compensation is in the character of the lives we influence. It may take years for youth workers to see the results of their efforts, and in some cases, they may never see the results. But we do the job because we know those results will come someday, whether we see them or not. One person sows the seed, another waters it, another weeds the garden, and eventually, one day there will be a harvest. Youth workers may not reap an immediate monetary reward for their work, but they reap a harvest nonetheless. So whether you work as a youth pastor, a coach, at a Boys & Girls Club, or somewhere else in the youth development field, "Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. . . . Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Gal 6:7, 9).