March 22

SDA Sabbath School Lessons

#12 Converting Spiritual Gifts Into Ministries

• Sabbath 3/15 - Once Spiritual Gifts Are Identified
• Sunday 3/16 - Developing Spiritual Gifts Into Ministries
• Monday 3/17- Designing A Ministry
• Tuesday 3/18 - Study And Knowledge
• Wednesday 3/19 - Study And Knowledge
• Thursday 3/20 - Study And Knowledge
• Friday 3/21 - Further Study
• Inside Story - Light in the Darkness

ONCE SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE IDENTIFIED,

THE NEXT STEP IS TO DEVELOP THEM INTO MINISTRIES. This is done through study, attendance at training sessions and seminars, and through use and practice. The Lord expects Christians to "professionalize" their ministries and develop them to the best of their ability.

Because you have received a personal calling from the Lord, it is up to you to put your ministry into practice on a regular basis. Throughout your lifetime, your principal roles in the church should be compatible with your spiritual gifts. There may be times when the needs of the kingdom require you to perform a role or function that is outside your regular ministry or not directly related to your particular gifts, but this will be a temporary situation. Most of the time, you will function within the context of your primary spiritual gifts.

DEVELOPING SPIRITUAL GIFTS INTO MINISTRIES (2 Cor. 5:18,19).

God's purpose in assigning spiritual gifts to church members is to enable them to minister to others. (See 1 Tim. 4:14-16; 2 Tim. 2:15; Eph. 4:15, 16.) Unselfish use of our gifts brings blessing and salvation to others. Study the following chart. It will give you an idea of the kinds of ministry that might develop out of each gift.

DESIGNING A MINISTRY

The first step in designing a ministry is to decide what roles or ministries in the already existing church structure fit your gifts. The second step is to determine what ministries need to be added to the existing ones so that your gifts can be used adequately.

List your three primary spiritual gifts: (If you haven't taken a spiritual-gifts inventory, do the best you can.)

Fit your gifts into one or more of the following three categories:

1. Gifts dealing with outreach and evangelism, resulting in the numerical growth of the church.

2. Gifts dealing with the spiritual maturity of the church. These are gifts fostering spiritual growth, providing discipleship training, and membership support.    

3. Gifts dealing with the administrative functions of the church, such as financial management, maintenance of physical facilities, and membership support.

STUDY AND KNOWLEDGE (2 Tim. 2:15).

Spiritual gifts, as we have seen, do not develop themselves. As you convert your gifts into ministries, you may have to do considerable study to gain the knowledge necessary to carry out effectively your ministry or ministries.

What does the Bible say about well-thought-out, well-organized ministries?

"It is not a virtue for men or women to excuse slow bungling at work of any character, The slow habits must be overcome. The man who is slow, and does his work at a disadvantage, is an unprofitable workman.... Dullness and ignorance are no virtue. . . . 'Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.' 'Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.' " - Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 316.

How did Paul prepare himself for his new ministry when the Lord called him as a missionary to the Gentiles? Gal. 1:11-18. What did Paul especially want when in prison in Rome? 2 Tim. 4:13. How did Luke prepare himself to write the books of Luke and Acts? Luke 1:1-4.

All ministries take study, planning, and organization. In the space below, write down some resources you know you will need for your chosen ministry. Which resources are already available? Which do you need to find and obtain?

STUDY AND KNOWLEDGE (2 Tim. 2:15).

Individual spiritual gifts rarely function as isolated entities. They are designed to function in conjunction with other gifts. That is why the Holy Spirit assigns various gifts to people and to church congregations. As you develop your gift-based ministry, you will need to develop cooperative ventures with other people.

What did Paul say about the unifying purpose of spiritual gifts? 1 Cor. 12:12-27.

We have read this text many times during the quarter. It is so important because it is the key to the effectiveness of church organization based on spiritual gifts. These verses, along with Romans 12:1-5, outline what church unity means. It does not mean uniformity. It means that each person does his or her task or ministry in the right spirit and for the right reasons. When planning is done, it is done with an eye to God's glory. This spirit avoids all kinds of personality conflicts and discussion of peripheral issues that have little or nothing to do with the advancement of the kingdom.

Use the following chart for finding and enlisting the cooperative ventures you need for your ministry.

STUDY AND KNOWLEDGE (2 Tim. 2:15).

This is your operational plan. You need to meet somewhere, have a schedule, and get your ministry started. You also need to learn how to recruit and use volunteers to help you in your ministry, if it is a cooperative venture.

Base of operations: Where will your base of operations be? Your home, the church, etc? Will you need to rent a building or office. Where will you meet?

Building a schedule: How often will you meet? Does everyone helping you have to be there all the time? Who will help you organize this schedule?

How will you go about starting your ministry? With whom do you need to talk? What authorizations will you need?

Developing a time line for your ministry. It usually takes about three months to plan and organize a new ministry. If you try to do it faster, something will be left out, and the project will probably fail. Don't be impatient. Do it once, and do it right.

On the following chart, write down what you expect to accomplish during each of the time periods:

1. Clearly defined tasks with definite limits.
2. Short terms in office.
3. Plenty of human resources to employ in attaining the goal.
4. Simple, direct feedback about how the volunteers are doing.
5. Lots of affirmation.

Seminars and training sessions on spiritual gifts are often given by your mission or conference departments. Attend as many of these as you can. They will be helpful. Check with your local Adventist Book Center to see what materials they carry. Read the book of Acts in the Bible and The Acts of the Apostles by Ellen White. Do a study on the spiritual gifts of the people mentioned and how they used these gifts in ministry. Notice how it is possible to identify with some accuracy the gifts of some of the people mentioned less often. Ascertain how these people used these gifts.

Discuss your answer.

Edwin Eisele

Satan may be the defeated foe, but he does not give up easily, especially in countries where he has held sway for centuries.

The country of Togo, in West Africa, is known as the center of voodoo worship in the world. People who discard their fetishes and voodoo charms in order to worship Jesus Christ often do so at great personal expense.

When Yaovi (Yah-00-vee), a former voodoo priest, accepted Jesus Christ last year, he and his family asked Pastor David to help him destroy his voodoo charms and fetishes that had been the center of his life. He and his wife and a handful of Adventists gathered in a field where Yaovi placed his idols and fetishes. The Pastor prayed, then they lit the pile.

The fire drew a crowd of more than 50 curious villagers who stopped to investigate the fire. Some older folks became angry when they learned that Yaovi was destroying his fetishes. They threatened to harm him if he continued.

Yaovi tried to reason with the people. He explained that these were just pieces of wood and stone, and he was destroying them because he had accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord of his life. But his word only made the crowd angrier.

Someone threw a stone at Yaovi. Another cried out, "Let's burn the pastor's motorcycle! He's the one responsible for this!" The crows surged forward and began throwing stones and beating on Pastor David and Yaovi. But Yaovi's wife defended him, the crowd backed away, allowing the pastor and former voodoo priest to escape. Yaovi and his wife fled to the home of another Christian who notified the police. The police arrived at Yaovi's home and found the mob had tied up his entire family and were beating them. Had the police not come, the family would have been killed.

Yaovi was not discouraged. He thanked God that he had been called upon to suffer for Jesus. And Pastor David reaffirmed his intention to return to minister in the village. "I have dedicated my life to bring the light of the gospel to those in darkness. We must build a church in this stronghold of Satan and voodoo worship."

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