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If you would like to take this assessment, go to: [link] (our church website), and go to the right hand side to "Get plugged in," and scroll down to "Spiritual Gifts Test." You will have to make an account consisting of a login and password, but that's it. No other strings attached.

God bless,
Matthew Palfenier

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S-P-I-R-I-T-U-A-L
G-I-F-T-S
A-S-S-E-S-S-M-E-N-T

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~ ~ ~ .G.R.A.C.E .G.I.F.T. .R.E.S.U.L.T.S. ~ ~ ~
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(Results out of highest possible value equaling 10; top 6 gifts out of listed 17 possible)

CREATIVITY - 9
It is in God’s nature to be creative. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit imparts personality and Spiritual Gifts to God’s people, it should not be a surprise to anyone that God would also impart this divine attribute. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that “…we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. While this passage applies to all Christ Followers, it clearly refers to God as a “creative workman”. This passage also suggests that when God equips a person to be creative, it is because He desires that creative person to use those abilities to accomplish specific ordained purposes. Colossians 1:15 and 16 affirm that God created all things…and that all things were created “for” Him.

DISCIPLE MAKER - 8
A person possessing the gift of Disciple Maker is generally concerned with the healthy spiritual development of people within their circle of influence. A Disciple Maker will often display the ministry traits of Pastor and Teacher. The Disciple Maker prefers to minister to small groups or within a one-on-one mentoring relationship. The Disciple Maker is skilled at developing deep interpersonal relationships, values biblical knowledge, and likes to help others identify and achieve spiritual development goals.

ENCOURAGEMENT - 7
A person possessing the gift of encouragement has a unique ability to help others gain a positive emotional and spiritual perspective on their circumstances. Encouragers are people who find the positive in any situation. For them, “the glass is always half full”. Encouragers are at their best when they can motivate the assembly of Christ Followers to persevere in the struggle against sin and to strive for the accomplishment of God’s mission for the Church. The word Encouragement means “to instill courage into another person”.

Romans 12:8 and Hebrews 10:24, 25 instructs all Christ Followers to “encourage one another”. This gift of encouragement is clearly exemplified in the life of a man named Joseph. Joseph is first mentioned in Acts 4:36 and 37. In this account we learn that Joseph sold all that he had and laid the money at the feet of the Apostles. From that time on, Joseph’s name was changed to “Barnabas” which means “Son of Encouragement”. In Acts 9:26 and 27 we learn that when all the disciples were afraid of Paul (Saul) and questioned whether his conversion was real, it was Barnabas that risked his own life to visit Paul and to introduce him to the body of believers. In Acts 13, the Holy Spirit instructed the Church at Antioch to set apart Paul and Barnabas for a special missionary work…and so Barnabas became Paul’s ministry partner.

FAITH - 7
Every Christ Follower has established a relationship with God through faith in the work and person of Jesus Christ. However, the gift of Faith enables a person to trust God even more so for remarkable provision, especially in circumstances that appears to offer no viable solution. The person gifted with Faith often displays unusual confidence in the will and purposes of God. Such a gifted person exhibits a lack of anxiety and communicates to others peace and assurance. People gifted with Faith may become frustrated with others, or with their church leaders, for moving too slowly or for supporting a limited vision or easily obtained goals. People gifted with Faith just know that God wants to do more through us than we could think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

DISCERNING OF SPIRITS - 6
Spiritual Discernment is a special ability to be aware of the presence of godly and demonic spiritual forces. The gift of Spiritual Discernment is an important gift for the Church; because often the work of Satan can appear on the surface to be very positive. Without discernment, Satan could easily lead many people away from following Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:10 specifically lists “Discerning of Spirits” among the Apostle Paul’s gift list. 1 John 4:1-6 instructs the Church to “test the spirits”. Acts 16:16-19 relates how the Apostle Paul used the gift of “Discerning of Spirits” when he encountered a slave girl who was possessed by an evil spirit masquerading as a spirit of light.

TEACHER - 6
The gift of Teaching is a highly honored spiritual gift within the assembly of Christ Followers, but it is also a gift with severe responsibilities before God. The Bible warns us that those who teach among the people will be judged more harshly by God (James 3:1). A spiritually healthy teacher will not simply instruct the minds of his/her students, but will first instruct and apply unto him/herself the lessons taught by God through Scripture, and then only after the teacher can model the biblical lesson within his/her life, will he/she be authentically able teach the lesson to others.

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~ ~ ~ .E. .P.E.R.S.O.N.A.L.I.T.Y. .R.E.S.U.L.T.S. ~ ~ ~
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(Results out of highest possible value equaling 100)

INDEPENDENT - 60 ............. 40 - SOCIAL
ABSTRACT - 80 ................... 20 - CONCRETE
HEART - 70 ......................... 30 - HEAD
ADAPTIVE - 70 .................... 30 - SYSTEMATIC

RECONCILER - Let me heal broken relationships, between people and between God and His people.

Highlights:
• Relates strongly to the concepts of “guilt” and “grace”
• Highly relational individuals
• Seeks to reconcile people with people as well as people with God
• Commonly serves on the mission field or in mission and counseling organizations
• May be hard on themselves for their own failures
• Requires affirmation of self for who they are, not simply for the task they may perform

Who God Made You To Be:
The Reconciler identifies well with the Apostle Paul’s tension between our guilt and God’s grace. The Reconciler is a grace-giver and seeks harmony and unity within an individual or people in interpersonal relationships, both emotionally and spiritually. However, they are often hypersensitive to sin within themselves and within others. While the Reconciler is gracious in helping others address and overcome their personal sin, they can be far less gracious with themselves. They can find that they “beat themselves up” emotionally for their “failures”. They may struggle with feelings of acceptance by God and His people. They may struggle with issues of self-worth and their place in this world as they wrestle with a sense of guilt. They may feel that they must perform “good deeds” to compensate for their failures.

The Reconciler likes to work with people rather than ideas or tasks. They prefer a few in-depth relationships rather than many social contacts. They work alone well, and can be frustrated if interrupted too often. When communicating, Reconcilers may illustrate points using word pictures, analogies, and metaphors.

What You Can Contribute To The Ministry:
Reconcilers are very receptive to personal involvement in causes that make a difference. This personality type would most likely respond to a missionary’s appeal to come join in the work they are doing in Africa or the Muslim world. Reconcilers want to make a difference and heal broken relationships. The combination of these two passions enables them to fit well in the role of pastor, missionary, counselor, city mission director, restoration and recovery ministry support staff, and cross-cultural minister. They may also serve well as a small group leader.

How Leadership Can Support You:
It is important that pastors affirm and support the Reconciler in clear and consistent ways. The Reconciler needs to know that what they are doing and, more importantly, who they are personally is important, valued, and appreciated. To help the Reconciler be effective in their ministry, leaders should pour upon them blessings of grace. Leaders should emphasize the value of the Reconciler, not for what he or she has accomplished, but for who they are in Christ Jesus.

Leadership should observe carefully whether a Reconciler is being too sacrificial or working too much. While this workaholic mentality may benefit the ministry, it is also likely a sign of spiritual ill-health in the life of the Reconciler. Their sense of personal guilt may drive them into a works-relationship with God and others, rather than trust in God’s gift of grace. Leadership should consider providing accountability relationships to help the Reconciler stay on a healthy spiritual path.

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~ ~ ~ .L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P. .S.T.Y.L.E. .R.E.S.U.L.T.S. ~ ~ ~
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(Results out of highest possible value equaling 30)

PIONEERING - 17
STRATEGIC - 18
ADMINISTRATIVE -21
TEAM -19
PASTORAL - 12
ENCOURAGING - 17

MANAGEMENT / ADMINISTRATION

Highlights

• Address the detailed operational tasks associated with any project
• Support the accomplishment of a vision, but is motivated by resourcing and supporting their leadership in accomplishing tasks
• May struggle with multi-tasking, preferring rather to work from a check-off list
• Bring to the team an eye for the many practical and administrative details that must be addressed
• Highly dependable and conscientious project support team members

Description

Every ministry requires good stewards and managers, people with gifts of administration (Acts 6). Any vision or change requires people who are able to plan, problem solve, delegate and organize. Without this gift, the best plans may not get implemented. The apostles delegated the practical tasks of sharing food and taking care of the widows to those gifted with the necessary skills, including Stephen and Philip.

Administrative Leaders are often under-appreciated, having a leadership style which is less "up-front" than some of the other styles. However, much of the work simply would not get done without them. They are able to organize and follow through on all the necessary tasks and activities to ensure that projects are completed on time. They may struggle to relate to visionary leaders, not because they are unable to appreciate a vision, for they often highly value a noble vision, but they may become quickly overwhelmed by the many practical details that they perceive must be accomplished. Administrative Leaders are 100% committed to addressing the practical operational issues of any task.

Administrative Leaders are highly skilled at handling the details associated with any project. They are able to help people be successful. In fact, they may see themselves as the "Power behind the throne". Administrative Leaders are at their strongest addressing the ongoing operational management of a project. The Administrative Leader is a practical detail-oriented person. The Administrative Leader can successfully serve an organization or a project for an extended period of time. Administrative Leaders put the plans of the Strategic Leader into action. They provide a level of accountability that is necessary to ensure that each task is done, and done right! Administrative Leaders provide a practical bridge between the ideal plans of the Strategic Leader and the practical people-oriented tasks of the Team Leader. The Administrative Leader is generally not comfortable serving in entrepreneurial roles. While the Administrative Leader may also have some level of skill as a Strategic Leader or Team Leader, they will be most comfortable addressing and managing the practical operational details of an organization, along with its many projects. However, multi-tasking skills are not typical among Administrative Leaders. Administrative Leaders are people of incredible focus and will tend to work their way logically down a list of responsibilities. The Administrative Leader will likely receive the greatest personal satisfaction when he or she is able to observe how they have enabled others to be successful in their areas of responsibility, as well as observing how many duties they have "checked-off" their to-do list.

Administrative Leaders are very task-oriented. Administrative Leaders typically claim that they care about people…and will likely cite the many tasks that they have accomplished which have empowered people to do the work of ministry. Because they are naturally task and detailed oriented, they may unfortunately be perceived by others as being very "professional," yet emotionally cool and relationally aloof. The Administrative Leader is typically unaware of how other people may be feeling in this regard. After all, from their perspective, they are simply trying to help others be successful! They are convinced that if people adhere to their practical support, everyone will benefit in the end. When people do not affirm their supportive efforts, the Administrative Leader may respond with confusion and an over-whelming sense of failure. They may respond to disaffirmation by assuming that they missed some valuable information, inspiring the Administrative Leader to conduct more research in an effort to gain affirmation of their support. Ultimately, if their support is rejected, the Administrative Leader will likely receive the rejection personally…believing that they have failed their leaders and subordinates. This sense of failure, and the resulting feelings of guilt, will inspire the Administrative Leader toward one of two extremes: 1) either they will double their efforts and work tirelessly and sacrificially to support the needs of their superiors and subordinates, or 2) they will emotionally shut-down, become disillusioned, and seek to distant themselves from their perceived failure. Either extreme is unhealthy for the Administrative Leader as well as for the people he or she serves. Administrative Leaders have such an intense internal sense of responsibility that they will likely blame themselves for their perceived failures…real or imagined…for years to come. This inner sense of responsibility to the people they serve, and the projects they support, is both a blessing and a curse. They may work tirelessly to ensure the success of others and their projects, even sacrificing their personal life, their family, and their spiritual life in the process.

In a team context, the Administrative Leader will bring to the team an eye for the many details associated with accomplishing a project or running an organization. The Administrative Leader should be given responsibility for supporting the implementation of the many task-oriented details associated with completing a project or running the organization. Once the road map to success has been defined by a Strategic Leader, the Administrative Leader will ensure that the details are completed in the right way and according to designated time line goals. Administrative Leaders will naturally subordinate themselves to supporting Pioneering and Strategic Leaders, largely due to the fact that Administrative Leaders are not risk-takers. They are so focused on the details, that while they may be inspired by a vision, their motivation is in helping make the vision a practical reality.

Because of the relational challenges typically experienced within with in a team environment, Administrative Leaders should have responsibility over the tasks and details of a project, while the human elements of the project should be addressed by a Team Leader. The Administrative Leader will likely find that managing data and tasks is far easier than managing people. While they may have some people-management skills, care should be taken to protect the Administrative Leader from overwhelming stress caused by relational conflict. The Administrative Leader is wholly ill-equipped to pastor and encourage the team for an extended period of time. The team should have one team member whose primary responsibility is to pastor and encourage the team members emotionally, spiritually and relationally.

It is important that the Administrative Leader realizes that they cannot accomplish the many tasks alone…they need their team members and the team members need the Administrative Leader. 1 Corinthians 12 affirms that the Body of Christ is comprised of many different members who all need one another. The passage also affirms that God positions the members of the body, just as He has determined. God created the Administrative Leader and positioned him or her strategically in this world, at this particular time, and within specific churches because God intends for them to support ministry systems, as well as personally resource those who do the work of ministry. With the support of the Administrative Leader, the Kingdom of Christ will be propelled forward within a world that desperately needs to know the power and love of the God who Himself supports those who call upon Him to accomplish his will and purposes within this world.