Biblical foundation for gifts and talents
Opportunities are given to discover and express gifts and talents.
When Jesus sent out his disciples to share the Good News they used the gifts and talents they had received through the Holy Spirit. They were living out, and experiencing, God’s presence in and through them. This means every part of the body, regardless of age, appearance or skills, has value and purpose in God’s plan.
Each generation has a broad range of gifts and talents to offer. Our role is to help discover the gifts and talents of each person in our congregation and encourage all people to express them.
Romans 12 begins by saying that no matter how young or old we are, each one of us has had our need for a renewed heart, truth and life met by the same good news of Jesus our Saviour. This is what propels the generations into joyful service.
Compare that to the person coming to you saying, ‘I’ve got a few gaps I have to fill on the roster; everyone is saying no - can you please help me out and I’ll owe you one?’ It’s the difference between an encounter with Jesus that causes your heart to respond and sends you out with a desire to share and an encounter with a person at your church trying to get a favour out of you to help themselves. One breathes life and the other makes people want to run the other way. How do we move forward?
Just like your body uses all its parts to function every day, so all the gifts given to children, young people and adults work together for the good of the church and the wider community. It’s not about role status, it’s about matching people’s gifts with the right opportunities to lead and serve. That takes a gospel-humility and letting go in all of us.
SOME THINGS TO PONDER:
- How has God equipped you?
- Where is He calling you to share your gifts to bring His love and blessing to others?
- What role does the community play in helping you figure out where your passions meet the needs of others?
- Where might there need to be a letting go of the reigns?
- What gifts do we see in our young people?
- Are there roles in our context where adults could be mentoring young leaders?
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
If you would like to learn more about our guiding principles, you can find out about them HERE. You can also contact the team at Grow Ministries by emailing growministries@lca.org.au and a member of our team will contact you.
