Once you’ve been reading the New Testament for a while, you run into various lists of spiritual gifts. They can be confusing and intimidating. There are so many of them and people disagree about what some of them mean. It can be hard to understand what your gift might be. One of the ways that the church has responded to the confusion has been with quizzes and assessments. You can go through questionnaires that are designed to predict your spiritual gift (see an example: here). While those may have some value, I think there’s a better way.

1. Start with serving not with quizzes.

I’ve met people who could identify for me, with great precision and confidence, their primary and secondary spiritual gift. They were able to define the characteristics of their gifts with great detail. But they weren’t serving! That’s one of my struggles with the quizzes: they start from a place of curiosity rather than humility.

Consider Peter’s words in contrast. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). Peter doesn’t check to see whether they’ve taken the test. Instead, he assumes that God has given every believer a gift and he tells them to use whatever they’ve got to serve each other. The main emphasis is on using whatever you’ve been given to minister to other people. As the Nike slogan says, just do it!

As we serve others, we’ll naturally grow in an understanding of how God has gifted us. Peter urges us to steward or manage the grace that God has given us. If you’re a Christian, God has given you special help from the Holy Spirit to serve others and He expects you to put His gift to work.

2. Get familiar with the options.

As you start looking for ways to volunteer and help out, it’s good to be aware of the various spiritual gifts listed in Scripture (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-30; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 4:10-11). It’s best to think of these lists as representative not exhaustive. That is, the Bible shows the kinds of ways that God gifts people without necessarily defining every single way a person might be gifted by the Holy Spirit. I say that because no two lists of spiritual gifts in the Bible are the same.

The shortest and most general list comes in 1 Peter 4:11. After mentioning that we have each received a gift to serve one another, he adds, “whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” Broadly speaking, Peter is saying that there are speakers and servers. As you serve, that’s a good place to start thinking about how God may have equipped you.

Has God gifted you with words or works? Speaking gifts might include things like teaching, prophesying, evangelizing, discerning, and encouraging. Serving gifts might include helping, leading, healing and showing mercy.

3. Look at where God is blessing your service.

Once you’re serving and familiar with the various kinds of spiritual gifts, one of the temptations is to pick the one you like the most and own it. That’s not how it works.

After listing the various gifts of the Spirit, Paul says, “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). God decides which gift He’s going to give you. You may want the gift of miracles even though God has given you the gift of mercy. Accept the part God has chosen for you to play in the body.

You discern your gift by seeing how God blesses people when you serve. God’s goal is to build up the church. How is He using you to do that? Where do people express appreciation for the way you’ve ministered to them?

As people affirm your service, it also helps to look for ways where your experience and passion may intersect. What needs do you get most energized about? What has God done in your life that might help you minister to others? What age groups do you best relate to?

As you ease yourself into ministry, and consider the ways that God gifts people, along with the experience and passion that He’s given you, He’ll make it clear to you what your unique place in the body is.

In awe of Him,

Paul