This summer at Collegiate Week students engaged in a session to help them explore their gifts. Many students found this session helpful in discerning where God is calling them to serve. We want to share this resource with you.
Knowing the spiritual gifts that God has given you is an important element in discerning a call to ministry. Do your students know what their spiritual gifts are? Even students that aren’t currently exploring a vocational ministry call can benefit from uncovering their gifts for kingdom service.
Three ways students can uncover their spiritual gifts:
Through the Exhortation of Others
Often there will be other people in our lives who will affirm the gifts that God has given us, even before we have noticed those giftings in our own lives. Ask students the following questions: Think about times you have served others, went on mission or led something in the church or in your campus ministry. What positive feedback have you heard from others in these moments? Is there a common theme?
Through Gifts Assessments
There are some great tools that pair with scripture passages that list spiritual gifts. These tools can help students have a more thorough understanding of the variety of gifts and how their lives, passions and personalities align with these giftings. There are a variety of tools, some are more lengthy than others combining several assessments that include personality profiles, skills, and life experiences. Lifeway has provided a good, simple tool that you can use in one session in a downloadable pdf format: https://youngadults.lifeway.com/2010/06/spiritual-gifts-survey/
By Serving
Encourage students to recall times when they have served on mission, in their church or on their campus. Ask them the following questions: What do you love to do? When have you served on your campus, in your campus ministry, on a mission trip? What do you think you did well? What gave you joy?
Be the one that challenges your students to serve and explore their spiritual gifts. One mission trip, small group experience or outreach activity could be the thing that opens their eyes to what God is calling them to do. Give them opportunities, and have those “I see in you” conversations that will affirm the gifts God has given them.
Ginger Bowman, Church & Campus Consultant/Program Specialist, TXBSM
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