FIND YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS TO HELP YOU DISCOVER HOW TO LIVE OUT YOUR CALL TO SERVE OTHERS
Spiritual gifts are attributes given to Christian believers for the building up of the whole body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NRSV) says, “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”
Spiritual gifts are not talents or skills. “These fruits and gifts are not of our own achievement. They and others are the outgrowth of the Spirit's work in us, by grace, through our faith in Jesus the Christ. And they are not given for personal gain. Through these fruits and gifts, the Holy Spirit empowers us for ministry in the world” (United Methodist Member's Handbook, Revised by George Koehler [Discipleship Resources, 2006], 84-85).
It’s important to discover your spiritual gifts and the spiritual gifts of others. Often, others recognize our gifts before we do. By using an assessment tool, you can learn about your gifts and the gifts of others. Here are three important statements about how spiritual gifts affect the whole community of faith:
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NRSV) says, “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”
Spiritual gifts are not talents or skills. “These fruits and gifts are not of our own achievement. They and others are the outgrowth of the Spirit's work in us, by grace, through our faith in Jesus the Christ. And they are not given for personal gain. Through these fruits and gifts, the Holy Spirit empowers us for ministry in the world” (United Methodist Member's Handbook, Revised by George Koehler [Discipleship Resources, 2006], 84-85).
It’s important to discover your spiritual gifts and the spiritual gifts of others. Often, others recognize our gifts before we do. By using an assessment tool, you can learn about your gifts and the gifts of others. Here are three important statements about how spiritual gifts affect the whole community of faith:
- The use of spiritual gifts provides life and vitality to individuals and to the congregation. By using your spiritual gifts, you are contributing to the spiritual health of the church.
- When someone neglects to use his or her spiritual gifts, the whole community suffers.
- When an individual is doing ministry in an area he or she is not gifted for, this leads to dissatisfaction and hurts the whole community of faith.
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