Value Four: CULTIVATE!
"Nurturing the spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:1-7) of every individual, church and agency."
"Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant... There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." 1 Corinthians 12:1-7 NIV.
Spiritual gifts are how God organizes his church. The Church of God wants its people—clergy and laity—to discover their gifts and, with the blessing and direction of the Holy Spirit, be who their gifts call them to be.
The Bible says that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers for the purpose of service in and with the Christian community. Every believer has at least one spiritual gift. All need to discover their gift and become involved in the ministry of the church—as the Corinthians passage says, “for the common good.”
The effective church is the church that teaches and helps the believers learn their gifts and then assigns them to the work of the church based on their gift. Spiritual gifts revealed in the Scriptures and in the lives of Christians are a great demonstration of the power of God in otherwise weak men and women. As believers become better acquainted with their own spiritual gifts by study and experience, they will share Paul’s confession with growing assurance: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10).
The Church of God reformation movement helps all to discover who they are within the body of Christ, how they are gifted by the Spirit to serve the body and the Kingdom, and where their giftedness is best utilized.
Please be sure to check out the resources for the Strategic Values. New Resources have been added that may be of particular interest: "Discovering the Gift"—David Sebastian, Dean, Anderson University School of Theology, provides a clear, thoughtful, and succinct instructive piece on the gifts of the Spirit. Also: "Women and Men: Guarding Our Sacred Partnership in Ministry"— a thoughtful and biblical basis for understanding key problematic biblical texts used to keep women out of leadership.
Value Four: CULTIVATE!
"Nurturing the spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:1-7) of every individual, church and agency."
"Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant... There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." 1 Corinthians 12:1-7 NIV.
Spiritual gifts are how God organizes his church. The Church of God wants its people—clergy and laity—to discover their gifts and, with the blessing and direction of the Holy Spirit, be who their gifts call them to be.
The Bible says that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers for the purpose of service in and with the Christian community. Every believer has at least one spiritual gift. All need to discover their gift and become involved in the ministry of the church—as the Corinthians passage says, “for the common good.”
The effective church is the church that teaches and helps the believers learn their gifts and then assigns them to the work of the church based on their gift. Spiritual gifts revealed in the Scriptures and in the lives of Christians are a great demonstration of the power of God in otherwise weak men and women. As believers become better acquainted with their own spiritual gifts by study and experience, they will share Paul’s confession with growing assurance: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10).
The Church of God reformation movement helps all to discover who they are within the body of Christ, how they are gifted by the Spirit to serve the body and the Kingdom, and where their giftedness is best utilized.
Please be sure to check out the resources for the Strategic Values. New Resources have been added that may be of particular interest: "Discovering the Gift"—David Sebastian, Dean, Anderson University School of Theology, provides a clear, thoughtful, and succinct instructive piece on the gifts of the Spirit. Also: "Women and Men: Guarding Our Sacred Partnership in Ministry"— a thoughtful and biblical basis for understanding key problematic biblical texts used to keep women out of leadership.