PLACE Ministries Blog » spiritual gift assessment http://www.placeministries.org/blog Finding Your Place in Life and Ministry Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:31:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Nothing Fishy About Sharing Your Life Experiences http://www.placeministries.org/blog/2009/09/nothing-fishy-about-sharing-your-life-experiences/ http://www.placeministries.org/blog/2009/09/nothing-fishy-about-sharing-your-life-experiences/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:41:51 +0000 Keith Durham http://www.placeministries.org/blog/?p=61

“Daddy, are we almost there?” I could read into this question from the backseat the excitement my kids felt as we neared our family’s favorite vacation spot, South Padre Island in Texas. This trip had us fishing in the bay, a first for us! We thought our fishing excursion would take place on the calm, relaxing, wave-free side of the bay. Instead, the captain – wanting us to catch lots of fish, took us outside the bay to the deeper, much rougher waters of the Gulf of Mexico. As the boat bobbed up and down we found ourselves holding on for dear life! We caught fish alright, but all five of us ended up experiencing sea sickness in one fashion or another! We still share that life experience with others and laugh about it when we tell it. Life reminds me of that family trip: At times unexpected things cause us temporary discomfort. Other times, unexpected things cause us much happiness.

One of my favorite parts of the assessment test and the PLACE class is the life experience section. This section is the shortest of all the tests, but it is always the most revealing. Walking through some of my own life experiences I have realized several things about how God works:

  • God wants us to share our life experiences to connect with one another.
  • God uses our life experiences to shape us into what He wants us to become.
  • God uses our life experiences to prepare us for future ministry.
  • Life experiences can be painful in the short-term, but ultimately God’s promises will be seen and His good accomplished in and through us if we continue to trust in Him.

Sharing our life stories requires vulnerability on our part and a huge amount of trust extended in the other person. Sharing our life stories can bring back painful memories, embarrassing moments, or great reflection. The benefits far outweigh the risks. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you and be intentional about sharing your life story with someone else this week! You will be surprised how God can use your life experiences to impact other lives for His glory and His Kingdom!

]]> http://www.placeministries.org/blog/2009/09/nothing-fishy-about-sharing-your-life-experiences/feed/ 0 I’ve Taken A Thousand Spiritual Gift Tests Before http://www.placeministries.org/blog/2009/07/ive-taken-a-thousand-spiritual-gift-tests-before/ http://www.placeministries.org/blog/2009/07/ive-taken-a-thousand-spiritual-gift-tests-before/#comments Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:18:35 +0000 Kraig Kelsey http://www.placeministries.org/blog/?p=33 I repeated those words over and over to Jay McSwain on a weekly basis as his “D” personality persistently asked me to attend a PLACE class at church.  Jay’s role as assimilation minister, lead to him to create the PLACE curriculum.  Since my family was new to the church and Jay was piloting the new curriculum, I was a prime candidate for the PLACE class.  Yet, having been involved in ministry all my life, I have taken several personality and spiritual gift assessments.  Therefore, I felt I did not need to take another test.  One Sunday, Jay asked me to attend the workshop yet another time. I quickly tried to make up an excuse of why I couldn’t attend.  He then asked, “What do you do for a living?”  I stumbled around and embarrassingly said, “I am currently unemployed.”  His response was totally unexpected, when he said “Great!”  He went on to explain how the PLACE class could not only help connect me to ministry, but also how it could help me in life.  How the PLACE class could help identify my God-given strengths and gifts and how these things combined with my passion and life experience could actually help me find a job.  Since I had three very young boys at the time, the word J-O-B, resonated.  Jay also shared with me that a test is something that you pass or fail.  PLACE includes five assessments, one of these being a spiritual gifts assessment.  An assessment is an opinion of yourself, not a test.

Life Changing Decision

Long story short, I went to the PLACE class and my life changed!  For the first time in my life I felt valued by my church.  They cared about me, who I was.  I was more than just another person to fill a volunteer slot.  They actually cared about how God had uniquely created me, and then connected me to a ministry opportunity where I was not only competent, but also fulfilled.  The assessments gave me so much direction in life that I changed my career.  I had not seen such a comprehensive assessment tool that combined all five elements; Personality, Spiritual Gifts, Ability Awareness, Passions and Life Experiences.  I’m so thankful God allowed me to discover who I am, why I am here, and where to go!

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