Three kinds of gifts you can use to make a difference

Marketing October 21, 2015

Organizing a fundraiser, teaching piano, welcoming others at church — we all have different gifts meant to be used at every stage in life to serve family, church and community. Do you know what yours are? Are you using them?

Gifts can be split into three categories: natural, learned and spiritual.

NATURAL GIFTS are gifts you were born with. You have a natural ability to do these things better than others and enjoy doing them. My natural gifts are activator, communicator, arranger, positivity and winning others over.

  • What are you good at?  What do you love to do? What do people say you are good at?
  • Examples: Running | Organizing | Singing | Cleaning | Listening | Planning | Leading | Creating

blog_gift.jpgIf it’s difficult to define your natural gifts, you can take an assessment. The best one I’ve found is at strengthsfinder.com.  It costs about $10, but the results are spot-on. The report defines your natural gifts with explanations on how you best can use them to joyfully make a difference.

LEARNED GIFTS are skills you have acquired while in school, working or volunteering. Some of my learned gifts are teaching piano, charitable estate planning, teaching others technology, presenting and baking.

  • What skills have your parents, grandparents or teachers taught you that have become something you love to do?  What skills do you find yourself mentoring, teaching or tutoring others in?
  • Examples:  Playing Piano | Drafting plans | Electrical Engineering | Baking Bread | Decorating | Crafting | Presenting

SPIRITUAL GIFTS are given by God to bring people to know their Savior and to serve others. How cool is that? Consider what God says about these gifts:

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10)

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. (Romans 12:4-6a)

My top spiritual gifts are hospitality, leadership, faith, evangelism, teaching and wisdom.

Use your natural, learned and spiritual gifts to serve

Once you’ve discovered how you can be of service, start close to home. See how you can make a difference for your family, including your parents and grandparents and your children, nieces, nephews and cousins.

Look for opportunities to volunteer at church too; get involved at every age and stage in life.

Finally, consider how you can help your community, maybe as a volunteer at the library, serving at a soup kitchen, participating in a governing board or being a mentor.

To learn more about making a difference with your gifts, invite our Speaker’s Bureau to your church, school or civic group. We have a tremendously talented team ready to help you discover and use your gifts.

I am passionate about making a difference. I know you are too: Let’s get started!