You have gifts! And you are a gift to the world around you. Because every human is fearfully and wonderfully made, each one of us has something to offer to the world. But we have not always identified or developed our gifts well, nor deployed them effectively.Don Everts explores the gifts God has given every person and what new research reveals about the difference those gifts can make for us, our churches, and our communities. Churches have unfortunately focused mostly on spiritual gifts and vocations within the church. But we don't always recognize the wide range of abilities, skills, and aptitudes that all of us have, whether civic, artistic, or entrepreneurial. We each have God-given gifts and are called by God to use them in our vocations in the world. Discover how our gifts are a blessing to others and pave the way for reconnecting with our surrounding communities.



Don Everts is the senior pastor of First and Calvary Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Missouri, and is a writer for Lutheran Hour Ministries and the Hopeful Neighborhood Project. Don has spent almost three decades helping people on college campuses and in the local church become good stewards of their God-given gifts. Along the way, his wife, Wendy, has been helping Don do the same. His many books include The Reluctant Witness, The Spiritually Vibrant Home, and The Hopeful Neighborhood, all of which feature original research from Barna and biblical insights for our everyday lives.

Foreword by Savannah Kimberlin


Introduction: Seeing Buzz Clearly


1. Everyone Is a Gift: The Power of Seeing People as God Sees Them


2. Everyone Has Gifts: The Power of Discovering the Gifts That God Has Entrusted to Us


3. Everyone Is Called: The Power of Naming Our God-Given Vocations


4. Everyone Can Grow: The Power of Helping Each Other Grow in Our Gifts


5. Every Church Can Equip: The Power of Unleashing People to Use Their Gifts


Conclusion: Buzz's Concert


Acknowledgments


Appendix 1: Research Partners


Appendix 2: Research Methodology


Appendix 3: Definitions


Appendix 4: The EveryGift Inventory


Notes

""I invite you to allow this conversation to stretch your understanding of what giftedness really is—and what it means for your own life and community. I am so grateful for the ways it has stretched me."



"Discover Your Gifts is a must-read for anyone wanting to embrace their God-given gifts."



"I plan to deploy this resource in my New York City congregation. Why? Because it is grounded in a biblical anthropology, rooted in solid catechesis, supported by data-driven analysis, and presented in a friendly format. Striving, in the power of the Spirit, to connect with our multiethnic, multilingual neighborhood and world, we need help. Everts's work shows us how our giftedness points us to the ultimate gift of Jesus' saving work." weniger anzeigen expand_less