1. Temperament
      Colossians 3:12-14
            Understanding our temperament helps us keep peace with each other.
      A. Personality reveals
            Strengths
            Weaknesses
      B. Personality equips you for ministry
            Understand how you communicate in different group sizes
            Understand how other personalities work and balance with yours
            Helps you stay balanced by knowing your weaknesses

2. Natural Talents
      Everyone has natural talents.
            Music? Carpentry? Cooking? Sewing? Cleaning? Artwork? Writing? Etc.?
            Understanding how your natural talents equip you for ministry takes careful, prayerful brain-storming. To aid in the process, realize that sometimes natural talents overlap with spiritual gifts. Other times, God chooses to keep them separate.

3. Learned Skills
            Colossians 3:23-24. Whatever we do, we should consider it an opportunity to be in ministry for God. This not only includes the actual tasks we are to do in our work, but also the opportunities for outreach within these vocational situations.
      A. Vocational
            Educational background
            On-the-job Training
      B. Hobbies
            Hunting/Fishing?
            Model Building?
            Flower Arranging?

4. Life Experiences
            Romans 8:28. No matter how painful our life experiences may have been, God has allowed them to happen in your life. He can and will use them to uniquely shape you for a specific ministry within the Body of Christ.
      We all have a story
            Childhood experiences
            Family background
            Rebellion?
            Marriage?
            Children?
      Consider the Apostle Paul's testimony in Acts 22:3-21
            Pre-conversion experiences
                  Training and authority?
                  Persecuting Christians?
            Conversion experience
            Changes and effects on ministry
      What about you?

Copyright ©2001 Andrew P Kulp