Ministry Gifts

In Sunday School/Small Group we are going through a book and the current topic is spiritual gifts. We stopped this week to do a "Ministry Gifts Inventory" put out by Lifeway. Everyone in the class took it and it was interesting. I've taken these before while in college and again while in Bartlesville but hadn't taken this particular one so I was interested in what it would say.

Here is where it put me (top 3):

1. Administration (16 out of 18 possible)
2. Helps (15 out of 18 possible)
3. Leadership (14 out of 18 possible)

Here is what it says about each one:

Administration:
Persons gifted in the area of administration are goal-and objective oriented. They often have strong organizational skills and are able to coordinate resources to accomplish tasks quickly. They are motivated by accomplishing desired tasks and often derive great satisfaction from viewing the results of what they have accomplished. If you scored high in this area, you should consider being involved in an area of ministry in which you can utilize your organizational strengths to carry out the church's measurable goals. (Measurable goals are objectives such as numerical growth, ministries advance, missions expansion.)

What I find completely ironic about this is that while I do love to plan & organize things, I stink at it in my own personal life. Does that make any sense? I would love to be an event planner or start a ministry/program. It was perfect in my job at The Voice of the Martyrs because I was responsible for putting together the production schedules but didn't really have to do many of the actual tasks other than keep everyone else on task. Perfect for me. I think I struggle at home because I need to plan/organize/set goals but I also have to work toward reaching those goals, working the plan. That's where I struggle some.

Helps:
Persons gifted in the area of helps are motivated by a desire to further the church's ministry by meeting the needs of others, specifically those in leadership positions. They enjoy giving immediate help to key individuals in order to relieve them of their financial burdens and responsibilities. While these person are willing to do whatever is needed, they are motivated more by a desire to provide assistance than by a desire to accomplish a task. If you scored high in this area, you should consider being involved in a ministry in which you can provide assistance to someone in a leadership role to enable them to be more effective than they would be without you.

I think the line, "motivated more by a desire to provide assistance than by a desire to accomplish a task" is very true of me most of the time.

Leadership:
Persons gifted in the area of leadership have the ability to lead others toward spiritual growth. They often are considered visionary and have the ability to set goals and motivate others toward accomplishing the goals. They usually have the ability to communicate effectively to large groups of people. These persons often are chosen for leadership positions because of their ability to accomplish objectives. While giftedness in leadership is similar to giftedness in administration, persons gifted in leadership often are more concerned with the "big picture" than with the details of accomplishing tasks. If you scored high in this area, you should consider being involved in an area of ministry in which you can use your strengths to lead others in accomplishing the church's measurable and non-measurable goals. (Non-measurable goals are objectives such as spiritual growth, atmosphere, and attitudes).

Do I see myself as a leader? Sort of I guess. I do tend to step up but I just can't stand sitting around doing nothing. I am more than willing to let another lead but if someone isn't willing to then I tend to be the one to step up. I do enjoy it most of the time.

So - where does this leave me? Knowing where you are gifted is great but I think you also have to identify what the needs are in your church and what your passion is. I think that people too often volunteer in an area of service not because they feel called to that particular area but because they don't know where else to serve or because someone asked them to serve there. Just because someone asks you does not mean that it's where God wants you to be.

I know that I am not called to work in the children's ministry (preschool or otherwise) on a regular basis. I am more than willing to help in instances like VBS or the like, but I honestly can't see myself helping on a regular, reoccurring basis. Perhaps it's because of my previous experiences in children's ministry (not at our current church) but I also think it's just not where God would have me work.

I hesitate to put this "out there" but, if I could pick where I'd work, here's what I'd really love to do at our current church.

I would like to help start and lead a ministry to moms. As a mom that often struggles with my role, I need support from other moms. From talking to many other moms in our church, I know that there are others that also feel this need in our church as well. From what I can see, there is no formal ministry to moms going on right now and I'd like to change that.

A quote from a previous post:

"If you want to have a lasting influence upon the world you must invest in people's lives; and if you want to maximize your investment then you must invest in those lives while they are young."
-George Barna

Who is on the front line of investing in young lives? MOMS. Let's invest in them as they invest in the lives of their children.