Spiritual Gifts - How Do We Use them and What Difference Does It Make?

I've been talking about Spiritual Gifts this week - why God gives them to us and what they are. Today I want to talk about how we use them and the difference it makes when they are used - which of course, has a lot to do with recruiting!

First of all, the Ministry type gifts. These gifts include Apostle (there were 12 Apostles and these were people who personally saw Jesus), Prophet (there are two types; foretelling and forthtelling/preaching. With the completion of the Bible prophets are not foretelling any longer.), Missionaries, Pastors, Evangelist and Teachers. These gifts are the ones your leaders, teachers and pastors tend to have and are given to build up the church.

Manifestation gifts are given to benefit others and bring glory to God. These gifts include; speaking words of wisdom, speaking words of knowledge and Discernment, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Discernment, Languages and Interpretation. 

Motivational gifts help us - and others - see things from God's perspective and includes: Prophecy, Serving, Teaching, Encouragement, Giving,Leading and doing good to others.

So what difference does it make if these gifts are used? First of all, if you identify the gifts potential volunteers have and then match them to areas of the Children's Ministry - or your church as a whole - you will find your volunteers are able to really enjoy and feel confident in the area where they are serving. For example; if you have someone who does not have the gift of teaching as a teacher, while they might be able to teach, they are more likely to be frustrated by teaching and are less likely to want to continue to serve. However; if you match people with the gift of teaching with your teaching positions, you are likely to find they will really blossom as a teacher and find great joy in using the gift God gave them!

If your volunteers do not know what spiritual gifts they have, take the time to do a Spiritual Gifts Assessment to find out what their gifts are then match the area they serve with their spiritual gifts. If you do not have an assessment you are already using, then look on-line or talk with other churches in your denomination or community to find out what they are using and see if it might work well for your church, too.