5 Steps to Discovering and Developing Your Spiritual Gifts

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For many Christians spiritual gifts seem like an optional accessory to the Christian life. Sure it would be nice to know what yours are and use them, but it’s not necessary. They seem like extra credit. But the truth could not be more different than our perception. In 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 the Apostle Paul foreshadowed the critical role that spiritual gifts play when he said, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” For the church today, it is common for Christians to rely on wise and persuasive words to try and convince others about the claims of Jesus rather than utilizing God’s power. That’s why so much of our Christian life is not making a tangible impact: it is powerless.

So what does demonstrating the Spirit’s power look like on a practical, everyday level? That is where spiritual gifts come in. In 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, Paul goes into the most exhaustive discussion about spiritual gifts we see in the New Testament. Here’s how he ties spiritual gifts into demonstrating the Spirit’s power, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). Spiritual gifts are our primary method to demonstrate the Spirit’s power in and through our lives. That makes spiritual gifts not optional to the Christian life but absolutely necessary. With that, here are five steps to discovering and developing your spiritual gifts.

Take a Test

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There are numerous online tests you can take to get a good idea of what your spiritual gifts might be. An incredible resource to start with is the Spiritual Gifts Test. This free online spiritual gifts test will not only help you discover what your spiritual gifts might be, but they have deeper word studies into each spiritual gift to give you the biblical background for each gift and they also provide the different places where the spiritual gift is listed in Scripture. This test acknowledges the existence of the miraculous gifts but does not test for them. Much like a personality test, these simple questions help you drill down deeper into how God has uniquely wired you. Your spiritual gifts have been just out of sight, right underneath the surface. You cannot develop your spiritual gifts until you know what yours might be, so start by taking a test!

Ask Other Christians

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While your spiritual gifts might seem like a mystery to you, they may be clearly obvious to those around you. Two spiritual gifts given to Christians are wisdom and discernment, and Christians with either of these two gifts would be a valuable resource for you because they might have insight into your spiritual gifting that you might not even see. For instance, you might think that your tendency to show mercy to others is just natural and that everyone should have it. Those close to you might recognize that it’s not natural but a spiritual gift. On the other hand, you might aspire to the spiritual gift of leadership but those close to you could disabuse you of that notion if they have never seen a leadership trait in you. Whether it’s your parents, close friends or members of a small group that you’re a part of, ask those around you!

Put Your Gifts Into Practice

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It is not enough to discover what your spiritual gifts are. You need to put them into practice. That is the only way to develop them. If you think you have the gift of administration, start organizing something. If you have the gift of evangelism work with your church’s outreach ministry. As you practice something you’ll begin to develop it. That’s one of the primary roles of church leadership (pastors), not to do the ministry, but to equip Christians to do the ministry through their spiritual gifts (Ephesians 4:11-13). So, if you’ve got the gift of teaching, that’s easy to implement. You become a small group leader or teach in the children’s ministry. But what if you have the gift of prophecy? Or the gift of encouragement? What are specific ways you can serve utilizing those gifts? Ask your church leadership to help you serve in ways that utilize your spiritual gifts.

Fellowship With Others Who Have Your Gifiting

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One of the best ways to develop your gifts is to be intentional to place around your life other people who have your gifts. If you’re a teacher or a church leader, be intentional to spend time listening to other good Bible teachers. Gather fellow communicators around and talk about the art of preaching. Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). If you have the gift of prophecy, learn from those who have utilized that gift in the church. If your church has taken your membership through a comprehensive spiritual gifts assessment you can find others in your church that have the same gifts as you. Get to know them. Be intentional to learn from them and allow what God has taught them about their gifts to instruct you in how to develop yours. Like most skills, spiritual gifts can be developed and improved, so be sure to develop yours!

Leverage Your Spiritual Gifts to Tell Others About Jesus

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This is a reminder of what our overall mission is: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,” (Matthew 28:19). Our spiritual gifts are given for a very specific purpose. Spiritual gifts are not given for our pleasure or our amusement. They are not given so that the church can be entertained when they gather together. They are a means to an end. They are given to reach people for Jesus. So in the back of your mind, always be thinking, “how can my spiritual gifts be utilized to help people find Jesus?” Whether that’s an upfront gift like teaching or prophecy or a behind-the-scenes gift like wisdom or mercy, the ultimate goal is the same: make disciples. When you begin to lean into your spiritual gifts, do not be surprised when those spiritual gifts lead you towards ministering to other people. That is the reason we are given spiritual gifts in the first place.