WILSON — Stephen Hay — not far from those teen years himself — has keen insight into the angst young people endure today.

“Teenagers today are growing up in arguably the toughest culture they’ve ever been faced with,” says the 21-year-old youth pastor at First Baptist Church.

“Society demands perfection,” Hay says. “Perfection requires money. Money builds status, status gives success, and so on. The world believes that in order to make it in life, there’s a certain way to live — a way that costs a lot of money, and a way that produces very high stress levels.

“Teens are faced with these pressures every day. Fitting in and being accepted is their main focus — and unfortunately this leads them down paths that bring a lot of hurdles along the way. Eventually they get tired, and clearing the hurdles isn’t as easy.”

Hay aims to be for these young people, “someone who’s had to jump those hurdles, someone who isn’t mom and dad, someone who can still relate to their culture and struggles, someone whom they can hang out and joke around with, someone who’s going to be there, no matter what.

“They need to be shown that there’s another path in life, much more fulfilling and free than the one they’re so quick to choose — that’s the life offered through our Lord Jesus. Being a teenager isn’t easy, but having someone to walk the journey with can make it a little easier!”

Being Christian isn’t antithetical to having fun.

Witness it for yourself at 7 Friday night at First Baptist, Pettit and Chestnut streets, when a life-sized game of live-action “Clue” will be played throughout the village.

Note — this is the Scottish version of “Clue.”

Another surprise about the youthful clergyman: He’s a Scotsman. With his lilting brogue, Hay calls on the young, as well as the not-so-young, to join forces to figure out who committed a heinous crime, the theft of his Scottish kilt — the symbol of his national identity.

The first team to correctly solve the mystery wins the Sherlock Holmes Award.

The inventive youth pastor didn’t start out to be a clergyman. In fact, after earning his degree from Abertay University in Scotland, he held a lucrative job in graphic design at the University of Edinburgh.

Commenting on his decision to switch to a career as a youth pastor, he said:

“I firmly believe this isn’t something you can just decide to do one day, it has to be a calling. Poor pay, long hours and daily frustrations are only some elements of the occupation, not to mention serving one of the toughest client bases out there — teenagers. This job is certainly not for the faint-hearted, and unless you believe you’ve been called into this position, it’s not advised to pursue.”

He added, however, “Once you established that calling on your life, the once-negative aspects of the job become a pleasure to be involved with. God promises that for those who trust in Him completely, they will be given all that they need in order to do His will. I have certainly found this with youth pastoring. I don’t make a lot of money. I work long hours, and I deal with daily frustrations, but I’ve never been happier. God has provided all that I need and has blessed me with a loving church family and the best set of teenagers any youth pastor could ever ask for.”

He has organized interdenominational youth groups that have been a hit with Wilson boys and girls, supplementing regular meetings, which include activities like “Guitar Hero,” foosball, or Wii, with a list of extracurricular fun such as movies, barbecues and ping-pong tournaments.

Next up, Hay would like to share his love of Christian music. He has worked with several area youths and adults to form a “worship band,” with a hope that they’ll someday soon be able to lead new community worship services. The band has come a long way and should be ready to accept the challenge of ministry soon.

Ultimately, Stephen Hay hopes to hold a regional musical festival, involving a “Battle of the Bands,” where several local worship bands will “minister” in both individual and joint concert within the community.

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