People are always gifted, with one skill or more. Whether it’s being an excellent public speaker or a talented project manager, these are the skills that make the major differences and allow the owners to shine in their jobs and personal lives. However, these are acquired gifts, developed over time through education, job experience, socialization, research, and many other ways. As a dedicated Catholic, you can bring these talents to do something worthy for your local church, like arranging a large event with your management skills or giving motivational speeches with gestures you have honed over the years.
But they can never compare to your contributions to building a church using your spiritual gifts. People often mistake their acquired talents for spiritual ones and hence turn blind to the original picture. In fact, not many have a clear understanding of spiritual gifts, let alone know their use in building the church and serving others. With this being said, we have explained what spiritual gifts are and the ways you can hone them within your local church.
What are spiritual gifts?
Spiritual gifts can be considered as special abilities you will be bestowed with by none other than the Holy Spirit himself. These unique talents are given to every individual so that they can build up a church, serve God, and contribute to fulfilling his purposes on this earth. The Bible has exemplified these gifts in several passage references, like Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and Corinthians 12. To help you understand further, we have presented a few examples of spiritual gifts humans own.
- Leadership: Inspiring and guiding believers to put their faith in God and fulfill his purposes on this earth.
- Administration: Effectively organizing and managing resources to streamline the church operations.
- Teaching/ preaching: Explaining God’s words and teachings carefully while providing a clear picture of the same.
- Encouragement: Motivating others to leverage their faith for spiritual and religious growth.
- Intercession: Being an effective medium for others to convey their prayers to God.
- Help/ service: Providing practical support to those who are in need, be it financially or spiritually.
- Faith: Being confident in God’s power and will through both thicks and thins.
- Healing: Restoring one’s and others’ health through divinity and faith in God’s will and love.
How can you use spiritual gifts within the church?
Now that we have given a few examples of what spiritual gifts are, let’s explore a few ways you can put these in use within your local church and fulfill your purpose.
Encouraging and teaching God’s beliefs and power
As a strong believer in Christianity, you should do everything in your power to teach others about God’s beliefs and power, explaining the verses in the Bible and their hidden meanings. Whether it’s the Noah’s Arc or Peter’s Walk on Water, you should relay the message of these events to others through your teaching skills and encourage them to follow their heart and persevere in tough times.
Administering and leading groups
If you have leadership or administrative gifts given by The Holy Spirit himself, use them to lead others toward the path of divinity and restore their lost hope in God’s will and power. You may be in charge of arranging events and masses within the local church and you should use your excellent administrative skills for allocating the available resources properly, leaving no gap. In other words, you need to motivate others by using the words of God and make them follow a common goal for the betterment of the human race and serving the Holy Spirit till the very end.
Providing hospitality and service
As a true devotee of the Catholic religion and a strong believer in God’s power and wisdom, you should put your kindness to use and exert empathy towards those in need. Join church groups that offer services to different people, like those suffering in conflicting regions, poor children, disabled, and older people. By doing so, not only will you be able to show hospitality towards others but you will fulfill one of God’s biggest purposes, i.e., to help others in need and suffering.
Healing others with faith and divinity
If you are an inborn healer, use this spiritual gift to boost others’ health using your divine power. While medical science has improved a lot, it strongly relies on miracles, which will come only by keeping faith and enforcing trust in the power and love of the Holy Spirit. As a healer, you should help others to draw power from divinity and give them the hope to persevere through difficult conditions.
Conclusion
Drawing power and strength from your spiritual gifts is indeed crucial for building churches and keeping the foundations up and running in difficult times. So, you should nurture these talents that you got from the Holy Spirit and use them for the betterment of others and the purpose of the church.
