What kind of ministry can a believer use his/her gift(s) in?
By Ron Jones ©Titus Institute 2009
According to 1 Cor.12:4-6 spiritual gifts can be exercised in a variety of ministries which produce a variety of fruit. It says that there are different kinds of gifts (spiritual gifts) and different kinds of service (ministries the gifts are exercised in) and different kinds of workings or effects (fruit from the ministries the gifts are exercised in). The same Triune God works through all of them.
You can use your gift in a defined church ministry such as a small group or Sunday School. You can also use your gift to minister to others without a defined ministry. You don't have to have a title or a position to minister to others. God works through the exercise of our spiritual gifts in a spiritual ministry and produces spiritual fruit in the lives of His saints.
Each spiritual gift is listed below with some possible ministries you can use your gift in.
1. Teaching
"Teaching" is the "spiritual ability to understand and explain effectively the text and truths of the Word of God." (Rom.12:7, Acts 13:1, 1 Cor.12:28)
Teaching an adult Sunday morning class
Teaching an adult Bible study
Teaching a youth Sunday morning class
Teaching a youth Bible study
Teaching a Children’s Sunday morning class
Teaching a Children’s Bible study
Leading a discipleship group
Leading counsel/teaching times in an Awana ministry or other children’s club meetings
Any ministry in the church where teaching is needed.
Writing for Christian magazines, Internet-based ministries, and other print media
2. Exhortation
"Exhortation" is the "spiritual ability to effectively urge and encourage other believers with the Word of God to press on to greater obedience to Jesus Christ." (Rom.12:8, 12:1, 1 Thess.4:1, Phil.4:2, 2 Tim.4:2)
Those with the gift of exhortation like to encourage others in their walk with Christ. They enjoy coming alongside of other believers and urging them to obey the Lord, or serve the Lord, or get involved in the body. They want to see other believers grow in Christ and turn away from sin. Exhorters get Christians moving.
They are often also very outreach oriented. They are also very concerned about the spiritual lives of those who do not know Christ.They are attracted to first-time visitors to make them feel welcome and loved. They want to encourage them.
Any ministry to first-time visitors
Any outreach ministry or evangelistic ministry
Teaching an adult Sunday morning class
Teaching an adult Bible study
Teaching a youth Sunday morning class
Teaching a youth Bible study
Teaching a Children’s Sunday morning class
Teaching a Children’s Bible study
Leading a discipleship group
Leading counsel/teaching times in an Awana ministry or other children’s club meetings
Any ministry where people need to be exhorted and encouraged.
Writing for Christian magazines, Internet-based ministries, and other print media
3. Evangelism
The gift of evangelism comes from Eph.4:11.
"Evangelism" is the "spiritual ability to present the gospel in a clear and coherent way so that unbelievers accept Christ as Savior." (Eph.4:11, Acts 6:3-7, 8:1-13, 21:8)
Any ministry to first-time visitors
Any outreach ministry or evangelistic ministry
4. Mercy
"Mercy" is the "spiritual ability to effectively comfort and/or relieve the suffering believer through spiritual and/or physical means."
They have a deep heart of compassion toward the suffering which moves them to action to help relieve that suffering. The believer who has the gift of mercy is drawn toward those who suffering particularly in the physical realm, but also those in general distress.
They may be outcast, poor, underprivileged, abused, physically or mentally challenged, shut-tin, hungry, and the like. But they do more than feel pity and compassion, they act.
They actively seek to relieve the suffering of those believers through comfort and whatever physical means it takes to help them
Visiting the ill in the hospital
Visiting shut-ins (those who cannot leave their homes)
Helping in a food and clothing distribution ministry
Ministering to widows and senior Christians
Any ministry of comfort and relief of suffering Christians or non-Christians
5. Giving
"Giving" is the "spiritual ability to give of one's material goods or financial resources sacrificially for the Lord's work and/or the financial and material needs of believers (above and beyond the Biblical responsibility of all believers)."
Christians with this gift enjoy giving a share or portion of what they possess to another. Giving one's time or energy is exercised whenever any gift is exercised, but the gift of giving is the sharing of material or financial resources.
This gift can be exercised by giving money, or goods, donating clothes, food, whatever to meet the material needs of the saints.
I had a woman come to me who after listening to me felt she had the gift of giving, but her and her husband were in very diffcult straights financially. She wanted to know how she could exercise that gift.
I told her she needed to think differently. She was thinking only about money she earned through her job.
She could exercise her gift by holding garage sales and using the money she made to help those in need.
Or let's say someone in her SS class or Bible study gets laid off, she could ask the others in the class for food donations and together with some of her own take it to that family in need.
6. Administration
"Administration" is the "spiritual ability to effectively plan, organize, and direct a group of Christians to accomplish a particular ministry objective in a harmonious and orderly way."
Those who this gift are able to effectively plan, organize, and direct a group of Christians to accomplish a ministry objective.
This gift is crucial in the body of Christ. These saints can lead a variety of ministries.
Leadership in any ministry in the church
Leadership in Awana or other children’s club meeting
Leadership in Children's ministries
Elder, deacon, or deaconness (according to Biblical qualifications)
Lead or help organize women's ministry events
Those with this gift can develop ministries where others can use their gifts such as a a visitation ministry for shut-ins where they organize a group of those with the gift of mercy to visit them.
7. Leadership
"Leadership" is the "spiritual ability to discern the spiritual needs of a group of Christians and lead them into fulfilling God's plan for them which is greater love for Christ, for one another, and for the lost."
The core concept behind this word as used in the context of the church is leading others spiritually, leading others to greater love for Christ, greater love for one another and greater love for the lost.
Leadership in any ministry in the church (according to Biblical qualifications)
Leadership in Awana or other children’s club meeting
Leadership in Children's ministries
Elder, deacon, or deaconness (according to Biblical qualifications)
Lead or help organize women's ministry events
8. Helps
"Helps" is the "spiritual ability to effectively come to the aid of another believer to meet a personal, temporal (non-spiritual) burden or need which often is immediate, unexpected, and/or extraordinary."
It has the idea of coming to the aid of or helping someone with a burden or great need that arises in a believer's life.
This need often arises suddenly or unexpectedly, but not always, but it is always a need that is a burden so that the believer needs help with it.
Those with this gift are attracted to help others with these kinds of burdens in their lives to help relieve them of it.
An elderly Christian needs to go to the doctor and has no one to take them.
A young mother is sick and needs someone to help with meals.
These Christians are the ones you call when you need someone right away.
This gift is great to use in conjuction with one's natural talents.
A Christian is a computer expert and he has the gift of helps and is called when the Senior Pastor cannot print out his sermon because he has clicked the wrong icon in windows and can't figure out what to do and its Friday afternoon. And its going to be pretty difficult to preach with the computer terminal sitting on the pulpit.
That has happened, but the Senior Pastor will remain nameless.
A person with the gift of helps is skilled with carpentry, or plumbing or electrical and something goes wrong in the church on Saturday evening that must be repaired before Sunday morning
I could give you many examples.
It isn't that others without the gift of helps can't do these things, it that those with the gift of helps like coming to the rescue.
The body of Christ needs people like that.
9. Service
"Service" is the "spiritual ability to effectively perform self-sacrificial actions and tasks to assist the body of believers in the fulfillment of the Great Commission."
People need to be ministered to and to minister to others in the church - that is what we are all about.
Those with the gift of service make that possible in a wide variety of ways by assisting in ministry in whatever ways that are needed.
In order just for you to grow as result of the ministry of our worship service, there is a whole lot of ministry that needs to take place before, during and after you are here.
Sound, lights, cleaning, straightening the pew racks in preparing the sanctuary, typing up sermon notes, music,etc.
In the area of music, those who sing in the choir, play in the orchestra, play the organ or piano, turn the overheads, all are assisting as we minister to each other and seek to fulfill the GC.
Often those with this gift like helps use it with a talent they might have.
They may be talented in singing, or playing an instrument, or crafts, or art, typing, or ...
Those with this gift can fill in all the gaps in the ministry in the church if they have a talent in that area.
A Christian with the gift of service may also have an ability to teach, but if they are not gifted in teaching or exhortation they will not be as strong as the gifted saint, but they can be effective in teaching.
So, a Christian can use his gift of service in assisting in the ministry of the body. So I can minister my gift of service by using my talent to assist in the ministry of the body.
