List of Spiritual Gifts

There are many spiritual gifts that are referenced in the Bible. A few key passages that discuss spiritual gifts include Romans 12:6 - 8, Ephesians 4:11 - 13, and the chapters of 1 Corinthians 12 and 14.

Please take a moment to look the list of spiritual lists and think about what your spiritual gifts may be. If you aren't sure, online assessment tools can be very helpful:

• ELCA Spiritual Gifts Assessment
• Church Growth Institute Spiritual Gifts Analysis
• Building Church Spiritual Gifts Inventory

We would love to hear from you! Please use the form below.

Back to Spiritual Gifts

ADMINISTRATION
The gift of administration is the divine empowerment to understand what makes an organization function and includes the unique ability to plan and implement procedures that accomplish the goals of the ministry.

Those with the gift of administration often:
• Develop strategies or plans to reach specific goals
• Help ministries to become more effective and efficient
• Create order out of ministry or organizational chaos
• Organize people, tasks, or events
• Coordinate a variety of responsibilities to accomplish a task or tasks

APOSTLESHIP
The gift of apostleship is the divine empowerment to begin and oversee the development of new ministry structures or churches.

Those with the gift of apostleship often:
• Adapt to various surroundings by being culturally sensitive and aware
• Pioneer and establish new ministries or churches
• Desire to minister to unreached people in other communities or countries.

CRAFTSMANSHIP
The gift of craftsmanship is the divine empowerment to creatively construct or design items to be used for ministry.

Those with the gift of craftsmanship often:
• Work with wood, glass, metal, paints, and other raw materials
• Make things that increase or enhance the effectiveness of others’
ministries
• Are skilled and enjoy working with their hands to meet other people’s tangible needs
• Design and construct items and resources for ministry use

CREATIVE COMMUNICATION
The gift of creative communication is the divine empowerment to communicate God’s truth through a variety of art forms, including music, drama, singing, dance, writing, etc.

Those with the gift of creative communication:
• Demonstrate fresh ways to explore God’s ministry and message
• Use variety and creativity to capture people and cause them to consider God’s message
• Develop and use artistic skills
• Use their art to communicate God’s truth to others

DISCERNMENT
The gift of discernment (of spirits) is the supernaturally ability to distinguish between truth and error. It is able to discern the spirits, differentiating between good and evil, right and wrong, what is of God and what is not of God.

Those with the gift of discernment:
• Determine whether a word attributed to God is authentic
• Identify deception in others with both accuracy and appropriateness
• Recognize inconsistencies in teaching, prophetic messages, or interpretations
• Can sense the presence of evil

ENCOURAGEMENT
The gift of encouragement is the divine empowerment to present the truth of God in such a way that it strengthens, comforts, or urges to action those who are discouraged or wavering in their faith.

Those with the gift of encouragement:
• Motivate others to grow in their faith
• Come to the aid of those who are discouraged to strengthen and reassure them
• Challenge, comfort, or confront others to trust and hope in the promises and word of God
• Emphasize God’s promises and have confidence and trust in his will

EVANGELISM
The gift of evangelism is the divine empowerment to communicate the gospel effectively to unbelievers so they respond in faith and move toward discipleship.

Those with the gift of evangelism:
• Communicate Christ’s message with conviction and clarity
• Look for opportunities to build relationships with unbelievers and to speak with them regarding spiritual matters
• Challenge unbelievers to faith and to become wholly devoted followers of Christ
• Customize their presentation of the gospel to be relevant to the individual’s needs

FAITH
The gift of faith is the divine empowerment to act on God’s promises with confidence and unwavering belief in God’s ability to fulfill his purposes.

Those with the gift of faith:
• Believe in the promises of God and inspire others to do likewise
• Act in complete confidence of God’s ability and willingness to overcome obstacles
• Advance the cause of Christ by going forward when others will not
• Ask the Lord for what is needed and trust in him for his provision

GIVING
The gift of giving is the divine empowerment to contribute both money and resources to the work of God with cheerfulness and liberality. People with the gift of giving do not ask, “How much money do I need to give to God?” but “How much money do I need to live on?”

Those with the gift of giving:
• Manage their finances and lifestyle in such a way as to give as much of their resources as possible
• Support the work of the Lord with sacrificial gifts to help advance God’s Kingdom
• Meet tangible needs that enable spiritual growth to occur
• Provide resources in a generous and cheerful manner, trusting God for his provision
• May have a unique ability to make money so that they may use it to further advance God’s work

HEALING
The gift of healing(s) is the divine empowerment to be God’s means for restoring people to wholeness, whether physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, relationally, etc.

Those with the gift of healing:
• Demonstrate the power of God
• Bring restoration to the sick and diseased
• Authenticate a message from God through healing
• Use healing as an opportunity to communicate biblical truth and to see glory brought to God
• Pray, touch, or speak words that bring miraculous healing to one’s body

HELPS
The gift of Helps is the divine empowerment to accomplish practical and necessary tasks which free up, support, and meet the needs of others.

Those with the gift of helps often:
• Serve behind the scenes in support of ministries
• Seek the tangible and practical things to be done and enjoy doing them
• Sense God’s purpose and pleasure in meeting everyday responsibilities
• Attach spiritual value to practical service
• Enjoy knowing that they are freeing up others to do what God has called them to do

The gift of helps can be used in many different ways to help out behind the scenes. This could include anything from room set up to kitchen help to ushering.

HOSPITALITY
The gift of hospitality is the divine empowerment to care for people by providing food, fellowship, and shelter.

Those with the gift of hospitality:
• Are comfortable around strangers and care deeply about how the church welcomes them
• Provide an environment where people feel valued and cared for
• Are more concerned with whether guests feel welcome than whether the house is in order
• Seek ways to connect people together in meaningful relationships

INTERCESSION
The gift of intercession is the divine empowerment to consistently pray for others, seeing frequent and specific results.

Those with the gift of intercession:
• Have a daily awareness of the spiritual battles being waged and pray
• Feel compelled to pray for others or for specific causes
• Are convinced that God moves in direct response to prayer
• Pray in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit, whether they understand it or not

INTERPRETATION
(see TONGUES)

KNOWLEDGE
The gift of the Word of Knowledge is the divine empowerment to bring truth to the body of Christ through a revelation or biblical insight. It is also the ability to understand, organize, and effectively use information (from natural sources or directly from the Holy Spirit) for the advancement of God’s purposes.

Those with the gift of knowledge:
• Enjoy studying the scriptures and search them for insight, understanding, and truth
• Gain knowledge which was not attained by natural observation or means
• Have an unusual insight or understanding that serves the church
• Organize and enjoy gathering and analyzing information for projects, ministries, or other causes within the Body of Christ

LEADERSHIP
The gift of leadership is the divine empowerment to cast vision, motivate, coordinate, and direct people to harmoniously accomplish God’s work.

Those with the gift of leadership:
• Motivate others to perform to the best of their abilities and work together toward a common goal
• Provide direction with confidence in their vision for God’s people or ministry
• Present the “big picture” for others to see
• Take responsibility and establish goals
• See in advance what others can accomplish
• Make unpopular decisions when necessary and work through the disagreements that follow

MERCY
The gift of mercy is the divine empowerment to perceive the suffering of others, comfort and help in practical ways, having compassion that is moved to action.

Those with the gift of mercy:
• Get upset when people are hurt, displaced, or rejected, and want to reach out to them in their suffering
• Address the needs of the lonely and forgotten
• Readily gain the confidence of those in need
• Concern themselves with individuals or social issues that oppress people
• Extend love, grace, and dignity to those facing hardships and crisis
• Empathize with hurting people and enter into their healing process

MIRACLES
The gift of miracles is the divine empowerment to authenticate the message and ministry of God through supernatural acts that glorify Him.

Those with the gift of miracles:
• Speak God’s truth and have it authenticated by an accompanying miracle
• Pray for things that are obviously beyond the natural capacity of people
• Have seen God perform supernatural acts when they have prayed for intervention
• Express confidence in God’s faithfulness and ability to manifest his presence
• Represent Christ and through the miracle, point people to a relationship with Christ

PROPHECY
The gift of prophecy is the divine empowerment to proclaim God’s truth in a timely and relevant manner for understanding, comfort, encouragement, or correction. There may be immediate or future implications.

Those with the gift of prophecy:
• Understand God’s heart and mind through experiences he takes them through, such as dreams or visions
• Spot the differences between cultural trends and biblical truths
• See or think of images that convey God’s truth
• Speak a timely word from God causing conviction, repentance, and edification
• Listen carefully to God for what He wants them to say to others
• Warn of God’s immediate or future judgment if there is no repentance, for the purpose of leading others back to God

SHEPHERDING/PASTORING
The gift of shepherding/pastoring is the divine empowerment to nurture, care for, and guide people a they experience spiritual growth.

Those with the gift of shepherding/ asturing:
• Enjoy encouraging others to develop their faith
• Provide guidance and oversight to a large or small group of God’s people
• Establish trust, loyalty, and confidence through long-term relationships
• Lead and protect those within their span of care

TEACHING
The gift of teaching is the divine empowerment to understand, communicate clearly, and apply God’s truths to others effectively, causing greater Christlikeness in the lives of listeners.

Those with the gift of teaching:
• Like to gather information and then effectively communicate it to others
• Love to study the bible and challenge listeners simply and practically with the truths of Scripture.
• Relate God’s truth to life in a way that helps people grow and develop
• Give attention to detail and accuracy
• Prepare through extended times of study and reflection

TONGUES & INTERPRETATION
The gift of tongues is the divine empowerment to speak in a language, known or unknown, supernaturally.

The gift of interpretation is the divine empowerment to make known to the body of Christ the message of one who speaks in tongues.

Those with the gift of tongues:
• Speak in a language they have never heard or do not understand
• In prayer may have a love for God or burden for others that is so strong they have difficulty expressing themselves in words
• Have been inspired or have inspired others to step out in faith through the use of a personal prayer language.
• Communicate a message given by God for the church

Those with the gift of interpretation:
• Can interpret the words of others who have spoken in languages (“tongues”), even though they have never before heard the languages
• Glorify God and demonstrate his power through this miraculous manifestation
• Edify the body of Christ by interpreting a timely message from God
• Feel the Holy Spirit giving them the ability to interpret or speak when someone else is speaking in tongues
• Are sometimes prophetic when exercising an interpretation of tongues for the church

WISDOM
The gift of wisdom is the divine empowerment to effectively apply spiritual truth to meet a need in complex, paradoxical, or other difficult situations.

Those with the gift of wisdom:
• Focus on the unseen consequences in determining the next steps to take
• Receive an understanding of what is necessary to meet the needs of the body of Christ
• Hear the Holy Spirit provide direction for God’s best in a given situation
• Make practical applications of the truths found in the Bible, thinking through different courses of action and determining the best one

This is not meant as a complete list of spiritual gifts. There are other gifts that have scriptural reference, such as martyrdom, celibacy, deliverance (from evil spirits) that are not a part of this particular list.

Spiritual Gift descriptions are taken from Network and LifeKeys materials. Please contact our Lay Ministry Coordinator by email or phone at 952-758-3513 for more information.