..."Ministry means that God uses us to create a spiritual atmosphere that encourages others to grow and become fruitful in the Lord." (Quotes by Warren Wiersbe from On Being a Servant of God.)

When talking about how everyone is part of the body of Christ and functions differently, Gary always says he is a nose hair. His job is to filter out the good and the bad. Sometimes, when I thought about my specific function within the Jr. High ministry, I wondered. Do they even really need me? Am I doing this for the right reasons? But I feel God has placed me in the Jr. High ministry for a reason. On a regular day to day basis, God uses each individual Jr. High Counselor and Leader to help encourage these pre-teens to grow in their walks with the Lord.

So I'd like to say, in the body of Christ, I am the pituitary gland—I contribute to growth by planting more  seeds of encouragement in the lives of these Jr. Highers. :)