By Bob D’Ambrosio
Discovering your gifts and passions doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some simple and fun ideas to help the people at your church discover their ministry.
Vanity Plate Reveal—Create a license plate frame template, leaving the center blank. Have people write combinations of letters and numbers that best define them. Share the designs with each other, challenging people to guess what each license plate means. Let each person explain the customized creation and how it defines their uniqueness. Then discuss a ministry that may match that skill set.
Discovery Bag—Fill a large gift bag with items representing a variety of interests such as arts, sciences, and sports. For example, you might include a paintbrush, test tube, golf ball, and other small objects. In a small group, have people explore the contents of the bag and choose items that best describe what they enjoy doing. Ideas could be general such as “I like to work with kids,” or specific, such as “I enjoy computer website design.” Explore ministry opportunities that match those interests.
Vacation Destination—Ask people: “If you could travel anywhere in the world to make an impact on a community, where would you go, and why?” Invite people to share locations and types of projects they’d like to do. Their answers can help people discover passions for a specific population (elderly women), situation (poverty), or gift area (teaching). Look for ways to match passions with opportunities your ministry offers. You might even discover someone who is ready to champion a mission trip.
Million Dollar Giveaway—You just inherited a million dollars…but there’s a catch. All the money has to be spent on a charity to meet a need no one else is meeting. Ask people to respond to this scenario, and see how it reflects an area of their interest. When I posed this question to a group of new members, a 20-something man told me he would use the money to support kids who don’t have fathers. His parents divorced when he was young, and he never knew his dad. It was an easy match to hook him up with Kids Hope USA, a ministry that connects at-risk kids with caring mentors.
These ideas can start conversations that lead to ministry involvement. Have fun making some discoveries!