Gift-Based Ministry

Natural Church Development assesses a church in eight different quality characteristics. With this post, we will take a quick look at one of these characteristics – Gift-Based Ministry.

Natural Church Development defines Gift-Based Ministry as: The Holy Spirit sovereignly gives to every Christian spiritual gift(s) for the building of the God’s Kingdom. Church leaders have the responsibility to help discover, develop and exercise their gifts in appropriate ministries so that the Body of Christ “grows and builds itself up in love.”

For leaders whose churches have this as one of their lower points, NCD offers the following starting points as a means of improving this area…

• Discover your giftedness, and then teach others about theirs.
• Celebrate the gifts of people in your ministries.
• Develop networks of leaders to help guile people into an appropriate ministry.
• Cultivate a climate that is open to experimentation.

As a leader for a church, it starts with you. You must have an awareness of your gift set. Having a knowledge of your strong points affords you the opportunity to enlist others who possess complementary gifts. As a leader, cultivating a culture where people are aware of their gifting set is something that falls within your responsibilities.

As gift awareness becomes more and more a part of your church’s DNA, people should be recognized for their contributions to your ministry. Whatever your ministry may be, you can’t do it alone. And while you may not be able to give your help a paycheck, but you can definitely show appreciation for their efforts.

When a church has a greater level of success, it will begin to grow. And this growth will translate into more people needing to identify their gifts so they can get involved. A system needs to be put on place that will help people with the identification process of their gifts as well as their placement in ministry.

And in order for this growth to continue, there will need to be some willingness to take a risk. New people will bring new ideas and new passions. Now not all of these new ideas need to be put into action, but you will encounter some ideas that are God inspired. And it is these that can be pursued and take your ministry to places that even you may not have dreamt.

As a coach, I can assist with the process and help your ministry become one where people experience the fulfillment of using their gifts to further God’s Kingdom.