DISCOVERING YOUR SHAPE

FOR MINISTRY
CLASS 301

You were SHAPED for

Serving God
 OVERVIEW
 Discovering self (SHAPE) and how God want us to use them.

S- Discover your Spiritual Gift

H- Discover your Heart
A-Discover your Abilities
P- Discover your Personality
E- Discover your Experiences

 We need to know our SHAPE so as to utilize our gifts in serving the Lord at A.I.C
Milimani and wherever God places you!
 SHAPED FOR SERVING GOD!
 How God Shapes You for Your Ministry
Whenever God gives us an assignment, He always equips us with what we need to accomplish it.
This custom combination of capabilities is called your SHAPE:
 Spiritual gifts
 Heart
 Abilities
 Personality
 Experience
The above five factors will help you determine where you can best serve Him with joy, fulfillment,
and fruitfulness.
Discovering your set of spiritual gift(s), heartfelt passions, abilities, personality, and life
experiences will help you understand how God has designed you to uniquely serve.
 God takes ordinary people and accomplishes extraordinary things through
 S - SPIRITUAL GIFTS
 A Few Truths About Spiritual Gifts
 Only believers have spiritual gifts. 1 Cor 2:14
 You can’t earn or work for a spiritual gift.Eph 4:7
 The Holy Spirit decides what gifts I get. 1 Cor 12:11
 I am to develop the gifts God gives me. Rom 11:29
 It’s a sin to waste the gifts God gave me. 1 Cor 4:1-2 and Mt 25:14-30
 Using my gifts honors God and expands me. John 15:8
 S - SPIRITUAL GIFTS
A SHORT LIST OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS

I Cor. 12, Eph. 4, Rom. 12

i. I’m pretty sure I have this gift

ii. I may have this gift
iii. I don’t think I have this gift
 S - SPIRITUAL GIFTS
 ADMINISTRATION I Cor. 12 (sometimes called “Organization”)
The ability to recognize the gifts of others and recruit them to a ministry.
The ability to organize and manage people, resources, and time for
effective ministry.

 APOSTLEI Cor. 12
The ability to start new churches/ventures and oversee their development.

 DISCERNMENT 1 Cor. 12
The ability to distinguish between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
The ability to detect inconsistencies in another’s life and confront in love.
 S - SPIRITUAL GIFTS
 ENCOURAGEMENT Rom. 12 (sometimes called “Exhortation”)
The ability to motivate God’s people to apply and act on biblical
principles, especially when they are discouraged or wavering in their faith.
The ability to bring out the best in others and challenge them to develop
their potential.
 EVANGELISM Eph. 4
The ability to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ to unbelievers
in a positive, non-threatening way. The ability to sense opportunities to
share Christ and lead people to respond with faith.
 FAITH I Cor. 12
The ability to trust God for what cannot be seen and to act on God’s
promise, regardless of what the circumstances indicate. The willingness to
risk failure in pursuit of a God-given vision, expecting God to handle the
 S - SPIRITUAL GIFTS
 GIVING Rom. 12
The ability to generously contribute material resources and/or
money beyond the 10% tithe so that the Body may grow and
be strengthened. The ability to manage money so it may be
given to support the ministry of others.

 HEALING I Cor. 12
The ability to pray, in faith, specifically for people who need
physical, emotional, or spiritual healing and see God answer.
The ability to sense when God is prompting you to pray this
 S - SPIRITUAL GIFTS
 HOSPITALITY 1 Peter 4:9-10
The ability to make others, especially strangers, feel warmly welcomed,
accepted, and comfortable in the church family. The ability to coordinate
factors that promote fellowship.

 LEADERSHIP Rom. 12
The ability to clarify and communicate the purpose and direction (“vision”) of a
ministry in a way that attracts others to get involved. The ability to motivate
others, by example, to work together in accomplishing a ministry goal.

 MERCY Rom. 12
The ability to manifest practical, compassionate, cheerful love toward suffering
members of the Body of Christ.
 S - SPIRITUAL GIFTS
 MIRACLES I Cor. 12
The ability to pray, in faith, specifically for God’s supernatural
intervention into an impossible situation and see God answer. The
ability to sense when God is prompting you to pray this kind of
prayer.

 PASTORING Eph. 4 (sometimes called “Shepherding”)

The ability to care for the spiritual needs of a group of believers and
equip them for ministry. The ability to nurture a small group in
spiritual growth and assume responsibility for their welfare.
 S - SPIRITUAL GIFTS
 PRAYING WITH MY SPIRIT I Cor. 12 (sometimes called
“Tongues/Interpretation”)
The ability to pray in a language understood only by God or
one who is given the gift of interpretation at that time.

 PREACHING Rom. 12 (sometimes called “Prophecy”)

The ability to publicly communicate God’s Word in an inspired
way that convinces unbelievers and both challenges and
comforts believers. The ability to persuasively declare God’s
will.
 S - SPIRITUAL GIFTS
 SERVICE Rom. 12
The ability to recognize unmet needs in the church family, and
take the initiative to provide practical assistance quickly,
cheerfully, and without a need for recognition.

 TEACHING Eph. 4
The ability to educate God’s people by clearly explaining and
applying the Bible in a way that causes them to learn. The
ability to equip and train other believers for ministry.
 S - SPIRITUAL GIFTS
WISDOM 1 Cor. 12
The ability to understand God’s perspective on life
situations and share those insights in a simple,
understandable way. The ability to explain what to
do and how to do it.
 H-HEART
“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your
heart.” Ps. 37:4

 Three ways in which your heart or passion is directed:

 a passion for a role (what you like to do);
 a passion for specific people (whom you like to help); and
 a passion for a cause (what you would like to see changed).

 What ROLES give you satisfaction!

 Designer
 Organizer

 H-HEART
 What kind of PEOPLE do you love working with?
 Young children
 Couples, men and women
 Teens
 Youth
 What CAUSES do you feel led to champion?
 Evangelism
 Financial management
 Evangelism
 Worship etc.
 A-ABILITIES
“There are different abilities to perform service.” 1 Cor. 12:6

Which ABILITIES apply to your life!

 Entertaining ability: To perform, act, speak, sing
 Recruiting ability: to enlist and motivate people to get involved
 Interview ability: to discover what others are really like
 Research ability: to read, gather information, collect data
 Artistic ability: to create or design
 Graphics ability: to lay out, design, create visual displays or banners
 A-ABILITIES
 Evaluating ability: to analyze data and draw conclusions
 Planning ability: to strategize, design and organize programs and events
 Managing ability: to supervise people to accomplish a task or event and coordinate the details
 Counselling/Encouraging ability: to listen, encourage and guide with sensitivity
 Athletic ability: to coach or participate in a sport
 Teaching ability: to explain, train, demonstrate, tutor
 Writing ability: to write articles, letters, books
 P-PERSONALITY
When you minister in a manner consistent with the personality God gave you, you experience fulfillment,
satisfaction, and fruitfulness.

 “I tend to…”
 Be Extroverted
I prefer interacting with many people and gain energy from being part of a variety of activities.

 Be Introverted
I prefer interacting with only a few people and gain energy from quiet reflective time. I am a good listener

 Be Self-expressive
I am more open and verbal about my thoughts and opinions. I enjoy sharing these with other
people.
 PERSONALITY
 Prefer Routine

I am more comfortable being involved in activities where I clearly know what is expected of me. I like closure and
completion before starting something new.

 Be Self-controlled

I tend to keep my thoughts and opinions to myself.

 Prefer Variety

I am more fulfilled by tasks that change and maybe even have some surprises. Finishing one task before starting
another is not crucial.
 E-EXPERIENCES
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called
according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Examine at least five kinds of experiences from your past.

 Ministry experiences: How have you served God in the past?
 Work experiences: What jobs have you been most effective in and enjoyed most?
 Educational experiences: What were your favorite subjects in school?
 Spiritual experiences: What have been your most meaningful times with God?
 Painful experiences: From what problems, hurts, thorns, and trials have you learned?
God will sometimes allow you to go through painful experiences to equip you for ministry to others. The Bible says,
“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give
 WHAT ARE YOUR EXPERIENCES?
 Spiritual Experiences
 Baptized
 Community Outreach
 Cross Cultural Ministry
 Led Someone to Christ
 Member of a Cell Group
 Regularly Give Back to God
 Regularly Pray
 Regularly Read the Bible
 Serving in a Ministry
 WHAT ARE YOUR EXPERIENCES?
 Painful Experiences (I can relate to someone who is/or has gone through…)
 Abortion
 Abuse
 Alcoholism
 Marriage breakups
 Bankruptcy
 Battling Cancer
 Crisis Pregnancy
 Death/Grief
 Depression
 Divorce
 WHAT ARE YOUR EXPERIENCES?

 Educational Experiences
 High School Diploma
 Associate of Arts Degree
 Bachelor Degree
 Masters Degree
 PHD/Doctoral Degree
 Specialized Advanced Training
 WHAT ARE YOUR EXPERIENCES?

 Work Experiences
 Agriculture/Animal Husbandry
 Automotive
 Business
 Engineering
 Entertainment
 WAYS TO START SERVING

 Serving at A.I.C Milimani Today- Would you like to serve at A.I.C Milimani? There
are incredible opportunities to use your administrative, organizational, and
management talents in the church.

 Ministry Finder- Find a ministry opportunity! Click onto our interactive link at
www.aicmilimani.org . It is designed to generate a list of service opportunities based
on your talents and time available.

 Please download and fill-in the MY S.H.A.P.E. PROFILE form attached and drop
it at the church reception or to the ushering team on Sunday after service!.