Finding Your Gifts and Passions

Today I co-taught the "Discover" class at my church.  It is a class that gives Christians a glimpse of who God has made them to be. We dive into personality, spiritual gifts, and passions.  All this coming together to paint a beautiful "masterpiece" of each person as seen by God and connect the dots to using these talents for serving His Kingdom.

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."  Ephesians 2:10 

Discovering why God considers you a masterpiece is one of the first steps in serving Him.  Once you know your spiritual gifts and passions, it is easier to lead your family in discovering the same.  Then it is through serving that your purpose comes alive.

Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts are given to believers and followers of Jesus Christ.  They are given by The Holy Spirit.  Every believer has at least one gift, but no one has ALL the gifts.  Below is a list of the spiritual gifts noted in the Bible.

administration, apostleship, craftsmanship, discernment, evangelism, encouragement, faith, giving, healing, helps, hospitality, intercession, knowledge, leadership, mercy, miracles, missions, music/worship, pastor/shepherd, prophecy, service, teaching, tongues, wisdom

The first time I saw the word "administration" in the Bible, I flipped with excitement.  I wasn't just "anal" in my detailed, organized actions - they were God given traits that could be used to glorify Him. He gave them to me! It was then, that I began to regard my traits and talents as gifts and really use them. Do you know your spiritual gifts? Are you using them?

Passions

Below are a few thought provoking questions to ask yourself when trying to find your purposeful passion ("purpassion") in Christ.

• What was the most fulfilling time in your life?
• What breaks your heart (for your city, family, neighborhood, etc)? 
• What do you like to do the most - hobbies, skills, etc?

Note: "purpassion" is a word I made up - see the definition to the right.

Discover for Yourself

There are hundreds of spiritual gifts, personality, and passions assessments out there.  When I was a Local Missions Director I did a lot of research on these types of assessments.  The most comprehensive and cost effective ones I found are through PLACE Ministries.  If you haven' taken a personality, spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, passions, and life experiences assessments before or if you need a fresh look at yourself, I highly recommend taking these assessments (either online or in workbook form).

The PLACE assessments give you a comprehensive look at yourself from God's perspective with valuable Biblical teaching.  You can read more about them on their website.  To purchase, go to their online store and search for the following:

• PLACE Online Assessment $14.95 (2 or more $9.95) - for adults
• PLACE Assessment Tool $8.95 (workbook for adults)
• Student Online Assessment $6.95 (7th - 12th grade) 
• Student PLACE Assessment $8.95 (workbook)

Note: I receive no gain from recommending PLACE Ministries resources.

Next Steps

Since my boys (ages 10 and 7) are still too young to take the assessments and get meaningful results, I am having purposeful conversations and prayers with them over the coming weeks to dive deeper to see how God is shaping their young hearts.  These conversations will help me in determining the best places for us to serve together over the summer (and beyond).

"Thank you Jesus, for giving me opportunities to share Your love through helping others discover Your purpose. There is nothing more fulfilling for me than to be able to help people to realize their giftedness in You and encourage them to put their faith in action by serving others.  Lord help me to transfer this passion You have given me to lead my family in the same way.  In Jesus' name - Amen"