The youth pastor of your church is helping build the faith of the next generation of believers. They arguably have the most important job at your church!

Show your student pastor how much you appreciate them with a thoughtful gift. If you're looking for practical youth pastor gift ideas for every budget, you're in the right place!

We promise these will be more creative ideas than yet another goofy t-shirt like they got last year. Unless they're into that sort of thing...

Free Gifts Can Be The Best Gifts

In most cases, the best gift you can give your youth pastor is a helping hand.

• Babysitting - Your youth pastor takes care of your kids for at least a couple hours every week. Return the favor! Take their kids off their hands so they can catch their breath.
• Housework or Yardwork - Offering to fix anything around their home will be a huge blessing. Pro tip: Coordinate with other parents in the church and have ALL the college students come and take care of ALL the chores!

• HELP! - Your youth pastor is counseling kids, planning the next big summer camp excursion, preparing for VBS, prepping for Sunday School and Wednesday night Youth Group, and assisting the pastor. They need your help! Heading to the church office and offering your time and assistance would be a huge relief.

Just because it's free doesn't mean it doesn't have value. A helping hand is the most personalized gift because it's exactly what your youth minister needs.

Gift Ideas For Under $10

Aside from free gifts, these are the most affordable options that your youth pastor would love.

• Coffee Gift Card - Keeping your kids corralled, entertained, and spiritually fed is exhausting. The next time you see your youth pastor, hand them a hot cup of joe and a gift card to their favorite coffee spot. They'll love you forever!
• Sticker - Who doesn't love some fun stickers? Buy a few for your youth pastor to put on their car, water bottle, laptop, and every flat surface of the youth room!
• Everyone Chip In - Instead of just one person buying a $10 gift, get all the parents (and maybe even the kids!) to put $10 into a pool and get them something really special.

Gift Ideas Under $25

• Stainless Steel Water Bottle/Cup - Everyone loves a good vacuum-sealed stainless steel mug or water bottle. Get your youth pastor one so they can sip their coffee in style as they wrangle those rowdy kids (and put a few of the stickers you got them).
• Restaurant Gift Card - Every youth pastor I've ever known always has the best restaurant recommendations. A gift card to their favorite food spot would really bless them.

• Bag of Coffee - If they're a true coffee connoisseur, they'll appreciate a fresh bag of high-quality beans! But should you get them pre-ground or whole bean? Trick question...always get whole bean!

Gift Ideas Under $50

• Coffee or Restaurant Gift Certificates - It's such a surefire win, it's listed twice! Consider upping the amount so they can take the whole family out.
• Tracking Devices - Between keeping track of the students and their stuff, your youth pastor struggles to know where they put the glasses at the end of their nose. Help them keep track of what's important with Tile Trackers or Apple AirTags.
• AeroPress - Just because your youth pastor likes to take the kids into the wilderness during summer camp doesn't mean they have to be deprived of good coffee. Give them the gift of a great cup of java when they travel for youth events.
• Gear Pouch - Youth pastors rely on a lot of gear to get through the day. Help them keep their lives organized with the durable Yellowbirch Outfitters PocKit. The Alpaka Elements Tech Case Mini is a little over $50, but perfect if they need a little more storage space than the PocKit.
• Gift Card For Their Hobby - What does your youth pastor love to do in their free time? Get them a gift card to a store or website they like to get stuff from so they can keep enjoying what brings them joy.

Gift Ideas Under $100

These options cost a little more, but sometimes going a little further with the gift makes a big difference in making your kid's minister feel loved!

• Quality Bluetooth Speaker - If the Wednesday night youth group isn't pumping loud music, something is seriously wrong! I joke, but I have fond memories of blasting worship music from the stereo just loud enough to get the elders to complain. It's hard to beat the Wonderboom at portability, durability, and affordability.
• Noise-Canceling Headphones - Student ministry is noisy business (see Bluetooth speaker recommendation above). These in-ear earbuds and these over-ear headphones are at the sweet spot between affordability and quality. Give your youth minister the gift of peace and quiet when they need it.

• Stickers in Bulk -Does your youth ministry have a cool logo? Upload it to this site and print 250 high-quality stickers they can give to the students!
• Subscriptions - Your kid's pastor is probably ordering a lot of supplies through Amazon. Covering their subscription for a few months would be the perfect gift.
• Multi-Tool - Kids break stuff all the time. Having a toolbox is a must, but inconvenient to carry everywhere. A multi-tool is like an entire toolbox that fits in your pocket! This is the one I carry, but there are other excellent options that will fit their needs.

Gifts For Youth Pastors Over $100

These options may be more than one person can afford, so it's best to get other church staff or the entire church body to pitch in.

• Ministry Conference or Retreat - Some conferences are geared toward the entire youth group, others are focused on just youth ministers. Either way, help your youth pastor out by covering their personal registration, hotel, and travel expenses so they can spend time being spiritually fed.
• Local Event Tickets - Give your children's pastor the opportunity to see movies and concerts, or attend other local events they enjoy by purchasing a ticket for them. Consider buying enough for their spouse, too!
• Family Vacation - When was the last time your youth pastor's family went on a fun vacation? Many full-time and bi-vocational church leaders sacrifice family time on the weekends for the church. Give them the gift of some quality time with the family away from distractions.

You'll notice a theme with these gift options: Getting away. If your youth pastor is like most, they need some time to rest and recharge to maintain their sanity.

Gift Ideas For When You Don't Know What To Buy

Is gift-giving not your love language? Me neither!

Ask your youth pastor (or their spouse, if you want it to be a surprise) for their Amazon wishlist and buy one or two items. That way the gift is guaranteed to be something they really want and you can more easily stay within your budget. Just make sure it's an item for them, not something they're about to order for the youth ministry.

Pro tip: Share the wishlist with other parents so they can pitch in, too! How mind-blowing would it be if you bought every item on the list? 🤯

Youth Pastor Gifts To Avoid

Avoid giving your youth pastors things they don't need or things they don't want. They don't need another coffee mug, pen, study Bible and commentary, or cheap knickknacks. As a general rule, don't buy someone any type of gift you wouldn't want to receive yourself.

Most ministry leaders already have closets filled with cheap mugs, wall decorations, Bibles, books, and a variety of other items they never wanted or needed. Let's not add to the pile.

Practical Gifts Can Be The Most Meaningful Gifts

Whatever your budget, the best gifts are the practical gifts that help your youth leader in their everyday life. Bonus points if it also blesses their whole family, not just them.

One youth pastor I spoke with was floored when the parents got together and paid for new tires on their car. Another couldn't believe it when the church bought gifts for their kids one year for Christmas when some big medical bills arrived.

No matter your gift-giving strengths, you will never bless your children's pastor more than when your gift fills a need.

The Perfect Gift Is Intentional

The above list is filled with amazing gift ideas that would really bless your youth pastor. But this is just a start. The best gifts are chosen with lots of thought and intentionality. The perfect gift for any leader is different, but as long as you give with love, they will be truly blessed.

Matt Church Engagement