How To Utilize Ministry Gifts for Your Spiritual Development

Children are told the story of Peter Pan, a boy who never grew up and led an exciting life of fighting pirates with Captain Hook! God’s will is for His children to grow up, get full of spiritual development, and be ready to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Having faith like a child is one thing (Matthew 18:3), but most Christians who stay like Peter Pan and don’t grow up in the Lord aren’t able to maximize their effectiveness in the Gospel message.

Ephesians 4:11-13 says, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”

Your spiritual development, or to use a term that Peter Pan would recognize: “spiritual growth,” is important to God and essential for the believer. He has planned for you to grow, develop, and mature with the help of God-called leaders who will guide you on this journey.

Let’s take a look at some of them.

The Gift of Prophet

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines prophet as “one who utters divinely inspired revelations.”

Also known as seers, prophets serve as the eyes of the Body of Christ. They perceive profound spiritual revelation and see far out in the distance, with a view best likened to that of an eagle.

As beholders of visions, prophets can see the future through a tunnel of time. What seems impossible or unlikely to those around them is easy for prophets to envision.

Since this is one of the gifts Christ gave to the church, you can receive it. Learn how to obtain from the ministry of the prophet.

The Gift of Evangelist

Evangelist is defined as “a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, especially by public preaching” by Oxford Dictionary.

The purpose of the gift of evangelist, like every other gift, is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the Church, the Body of Christ.

How does an evangelist do that? Riley Stephenson, Evangelist at KCM, teaches and trains others how to win the lost and minister salvation. He explains how each believer can be a laborer in their field.

The Gift of Pastor

Dictionary.com defines pastor as “a minister in charge of a church; a person having spiritual care of a number of persons.” A pastor is the shepherd over his flock of sheep, or congregation. He looks out for their spiritual needs and welfare.

Jesus is referred to as the Good Shepherd. 1 Peter 2:25 says, “Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.” He chooses people to serve as pastors.

Being part of a local church puts you under the care of a pastor. Pray to find the right church and discover all the churches that partner with KCM worldwide. There may be one near your home!

The Gift of Teacher

A teacher is simply “one who teaches.” Many ministries in the Body of Christ teach the Word of God. Victory Channel hosts various programs that teach the Word of God 24/7.

Jesus has appointed God-called men and women to be leaders in the Church or Body of Christ, and in the individual churches, so you can grow up and spiritually develop to be “mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-16).

The Purpose of Ministry Gifts

The ministry gifts of prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher equip you by preaching and teaching the Word of God.

Just as a baby has a desire for milk, believers should take in the milk of God’s Word for spiritual growth (1 Peter 2:2). Believers are to grow up into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18), but this process doesn’t happen overnight.

Partaking of the Word of God, preached and taught through these ministry gifts, will help you grow and develop spiritually.

Maybe you are sensing God leading you in one of the five-fold ministry gifts [apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher] and don’t know where to begin. Kenneth Copeland Bible College is the perfect place to be trained for ministry and follow God’s plan for your life. You can be activated for maximum impact in this world!

The Church needs these ministry gifts to support spiritual development in each member of the Body of Christ. Your part is to receive these leaders as gifts from God and embrace their instruction to bring you into a victorious life that is pleasing to God.

Instead of pretending you never have to grow up and only have to float from cloud to cloud like Peter Pan, get your head out of the clouds. It’s time to grow up as Christ needs us to do. That’s the only way we will do the work God planned for us!

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