Discovering Our Spiritual Gifts:
Spiritual Gifts Used Through the Local Congregation

As we discovered in the inductive study of the biblical texts associated with spiritual giftedness, each Christian possesses at least one spiritual gift. A spiritual gift, however, is not given for the personal benefit of the possessor. Gifts are given "for the common good," "for the building up of the body of Christ." Each Christian is uniquely endowed with individual gifts to be shared in the context of the Church Universal and through a local congregation. Grounded in the image of the church as "the body of Christ," each Christian is given at least one gift to be used as the church strives to achieve its mission. Each congregation contains a unique blend of spiritual gifts. When all the members of a congregation recognize, claim, and utilize their collective giftedness, the church is truly "on mission."

Printed below is the Vision State for First Baptist Church, Huntsville, a statement developed in 1992 as a part of the Dreams of Faith Emphasis:

The Vision of Faith for First Baptist Church, Huntsville, is to share God's love through Jesus Christ through participative worship, open inquiry, loving fellowship, valued diversity, genuine inclusiveness, and servant leadership-encouraging all members to exercise God's gifts and calling as we share the Gospel with the whole world and minister to the whole person.

• Provide opportunities to commune with God through creative, well-planned and participative worship services, responding to God through the offering of our lives and resources to God.
• Equip our people to be more responsible Christians through deliberate lifelong teaching and learning, using resources that are theologically sound, well written, relevant, and age appropriate.
• Build a sense of family and fellowship in the church by enhancing a feeling of belonging, communion, and sharing both within and across generational lines.
• Proclaim the Word of God and good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to all people through our speech and daily lives.

Take a few moments to reflect on the following questions:

• What does this vision statement say about the nature and mission of First Baptist Church?
• Which aspects (words, phrases, or concepts) of this vision statement pose the greatest challenge for our church corporately?

Our church vision statement was used in the development of the most recent version of the Spiritual Gifts Inventory that you have just completed.

As indicated in the table below, sixteen of the spiritual gifts listed in the inventory are matched to one of the five functions described in the vision statement. Four of the spiritual gifts are classified as "Foundational Gifts," those gifts which underlie and support the total life and ministry of the church. Take a few moments to study the table.

Functions	Associated Spiritual Gifts
WORSHIP	Music, Wisdom, Knowledge
TEACHING AND LEARNING	Teaching and Mentoring
BELONGING AND FELLOWSHIP	Exhortation, Discernment, Hospitality, Community Builder
PROCLAIMING	Prophecy, Evangelism, Missions
SERVICE AND MINISTRY	Healing, Mercy, Helps, Service
FOUNDATIONAL GIFTS	Giving, Prayer, Leadership, Administration

Based on your understanding of the church vision statement, of spiritual giftedness in general, and of your personal giftedness, brainstorm several specific ways in which you can help First Baptist Church to be on mission. Write your ideas. Once you have listed several ideas, classify your answers according to the following criteria:

• Which of your activities focus specifically on the life of the family of faith?
• Which of your activities focus on ministry, service, and witness to persons outside our family of faith?

The following diagram is offered to visually demonstrate one's understanding of how these various tasks work together to position the local congregation in relationship to the world.

THE WORLD

THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

If this diagram is descriptive of the mission of our church, it appears that certain functional tasks are designed to minister to the local congregation and other tasks are designed to minister through the congregation.

First, certain tasks (and their associated gifts) are accomplished in the context of the family of faith. For example, according to this diagram, the task of proclamation (or worship) is the core activity of the local congregation. Proclamation takes place best, however, in the context of Christian community. The teaching task is then designed, primarily, to bring people into community, so that they may fully participate in worship.

Second, other tasks (and their associated gifts) are designed to interface with the World, to provide an avenue through which people come into a growing relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If we are not actively about the business of interfacing with the World (i.e. about the tasks of witnessing, serving, and ministering to the World), then the congregation becomes a closed community.

Obviously, a healthy, growing congregation must find a balance among all of these functional tasks. Further, a healthy, growing congregation must acknowledge that a variety of spiritual gifts are needed to address these functions. Because a congregation is made up of many individuals, each uniquely gifted, each local family of faith contains a unique blending of spiritual gifts. As all members of a congregation recognize, claim, and utilize their collective giftedness, the church is truly "on mission."

---

Connections between
Personal Ministry and Corporate Ministry

One goal of this study material is to activate the personal ministry of each member of the congregation so that, collectively, the church may accomplish its corporate ministry. Some people see their personal ministry focused within the life of the congregation--working inside the four walls of the church building. They teach a class, sing in the choir, or perform services for other church members. Others see their mission field as the World--in the schools, in the office, at home, or in the neighborhood. Again, obviously both types of personal ministry are needed for the church to be on mission.

For those persons who are actively about the process of discovering or rediscovering a personal ministry, a study of spiritual gifts is an excellent tool. If you have no idea where to begin a personal ministry, begin by identifying your gifts. Next, brainstorm ways that your particular blending of gifts can be used in ministry.

As you reflect on this self-discovery process, please remember that many gifts have dual functions-facilitating ministry to the church and through the church to the World. A few examples will suffice. Teaching, as defined in this material, can be expressed in the Sunday School classroom; it can also find expression in the public school classroom. Service, helps, mercy, and healing can be offered to members of the congregation; but these gifts expressed in the world can be a powerful way to communicate the Gospel message in very tangible ways. Hospitality can help to integrate new members into the congregation; but further it can be an outreach to persons who might never come to the church building.

As you continue to explore your own giftedness, reflect on the following questions:

• What is your current understanding of your personal ministry?
• Are the gifts you identified in the inventory related to this personal ministry? If so, in what way(s)?
• Does your personal ministry focus on congregational life? Or does it focus on being an interface to the world?
• How does your personal ministry relate to the corporate ministry of your church?

In the next section of the study materials, you will read about three specific strategies designed to "call forth" the gifts of others.

Next: How Can I Call Forth the Gifts of Others?
Previous: Definitions of the 20 Spiritual Gifts
Top: Discovering Our Spiritual Gifts