Welcome to your Church’s PLACEment program!

Congratulations! Of all the endeavors known to man, none is more important than finding your place in God’s great work on earth – building His Kingdom for eternity. Everything else pales by comparison. This may be your first step toward a life of fruitful and fulfilling participation in God’s call to action.

May God richly bless you as you discover the unique facets of your life which qualify you – and you alone – for that special place in God’s great work designed just for you. Our desire is to stand beside you as you progress from opportunity to discovery to fulfillment in your PLACE of service. Our prayer is that this process will serve as an indispensable tool in helping you become all that God intended you to be.

Your co-workers in Christ,

What do I need to know about ministry Placement?

# Ministry PLACEment at Your Church is designed to help you find a PLACE in God’s body to serve in a way that will make a difference to others and be fulfilling for you. How does that happen?

You will be able to find your specific PLACE when you can actually see yourself as a unique creation of God made of different gifts, abilities, desires and experience. God has designed us to use all of who we are in service to Him. When we are serving in a ministry where we can use all of these aspects of ourselves, we can be fruitful and fulfilled.

If this sounds intimidating, don’t worry! God will lead you and we will help you to find your specific PLACE in ministry. As you read through this booklet you will find an explanation of the PLACEment program, definitions of the various ways God prepares individuals to function in the body of Christ and assessment tools to help you determine what your PLACE should be.

PLACE: Five facets of who I am

P ersonal spiritual gifts

L onging

A bilities

C omforte zone

E xperiencE

Personal spiritual gifts...

· are given to every believer according to God’s purposes

· are distributed by the Holy Spirit

· are special gifts given to help each believer make a unique contribution

· are given so that the body of Christ may be built up

For more information on spiritual gifts please read: Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:1-16; 1 Timothy 2:1-2 and 1 Peter 4:9,10.

We believe there are at least 20 spiritual gifts – if you are a believer, the Holy Spirit has given you at least one of them!

Longing

· Longing can be described as your passion, dream, burden, vision or call.

· God has given each of us unique desires and emotions which lead us to be excited or feel deeply about some activities, subjects and circumstances ... and not about others.

· Your longing motivates you to pursue these activities and subjects – so don’t ignore your natural interests; they can lead you to where you will be successful in ministry.

· God has given you these interests as a way of motivating you to serve Him in places in which you are already designed to succeed.

· What are you longing for?

Examples of longing in one’s life: Matthew 23:37; II Timothy 4:6-8. Results of following your longing: Proverbs 13:19

## Abilities

· Abilities are natural talents that you are born with.

· Many studies have shown that the average person possesses from five hundred to seven hundred skills.

· There are examples throughout the Bible of how God gives people abilities so that they can then use those abilities to serve God well.

· Examples of abilities people have that can be used for God: artistic &/or musical abilities, abilities to produce wealth, recruiting, writing, promoting, decorating, entertaining, repairing, drawing, cooking...

· What abilities do you have that you could use for God?

Scriptures dealing with abilities: Exodus 31:3-5; Deuteronomy 8:18; Acts 18:2-3; I Corinthians 12:5

Comfort zone

· God has created each of us to be different with different personalities and preferred ways of doing things.

· He’s made people who are either introverts or extroverts, thinkers or feelers, people who work best alone or with a team.

· Ministering in a manner that is not in your comfort zone requires extra effort and energy and your results may be less successful.

· We need to find our areas that will allow each of us to minister in our own comfort zone.

· At Your Church we break comfort zone down into two major areas: 1) how a person is energized and 2) how a person is organized.

Energized by...

...focusing on tasks, doing things and meeting goals = Task-Oriented

...focusing on people, developing relationships = People-Oriented

Organized by...

...enjoying being flexible with variety in tasks = Unstructured

...enjoying detailed plans, order, closure, details = Structured

· How are you energized and organized?

Scripture confirms you were designed exactly as you are, so it is fitting for you to minister within your own comfort zone: Psalm 139:1-16

Experience

· Every experience that has happened in your life God can use to prepare for your PLACE ministry.

· God can use the good and the bad in your life to mold you into a person who is motivated to make a significant contribution in this PLACE of ministry.

· God uses these experiences in peoples lives:

F Past events, i.e. turning points or trials

F People: godly, trusted friends; church leaders

F Specific Scripture

F Direct communication from God through prayer

· What experiences has God brought in your life that are motivating you to make a difference?

Suggested Scripture: In Acts 26 Paul shares the experiences that made him who he was. God’s ability to take all things – and bring good from them is in Romans 8:28.

How can I be successful in ministry?

You will be most fruitful and fulfilled when you use your P ersonal Spiritual Gifts in an area of your LONGING which uses your natural ABILITIES within your own COMFORT ZONE that God has created in you through your Experience.

How can I complete the PLACEment process?

1. First fill out pages 9-11, “My PLACEment Assessment Results”. Transfer the information to the center, colored page and deposit it into the PLACE-box. If you are unable to fill in the form, we strongly recommend you to contact the Church Council to help you find God’s PLACE for you.

2. Once the form is filled out, you can call on the Pastoral Staff or people from the Church Council to learn about Your Church’s ministries. If you need a list of these people please refer to the inside page of your Your Church Directory. You can talk with one of them to help you begin to identify a ministry where you can serve. We are eager to get together with you to help you through this process!

3. This should result in your discovering what Your Churches ministries are all about; you will be able to recognize those ministries in which you are designed to serve. You will receive names and phone numbers of contact people for each of your potential ministries.

4. The next step is up to you. Call the contact person of the ministry(s) you’re interested in to arrange an interview where you will get details of the specific ministry.

5. Now you’re ready! Once you’ve chosen the ministry position that you fit into best, you will have found your PLACE to function as part of Gods body! But remember, you’re not alone. We’re here to help you be successful. (For more information on support and expectations, turn to page 12.)

MINISTRY PLACEMENT ASSESSMENT:

# your local Church; A-1234 Anywhere; europe

Before you fill in this removable page, please fill in page 9-11, then transfer the information to the pages to be removed and put into the box.

Welcome to Ministry PLACEment at Your Church! We are excited that you have taken the time to discover God’s plan and PLACE for you in His great work here at Your Church.

We believe your PLACE in ministry can best be defined by the following five areas: PERSONAL SPIRITUAL GIFTS, LONGING, ABILITIES, COMFORT ZONE and EXPERIENCE. Below we have given a quick overview of each of these areas. Thank you for taking time to prayerfully fill out this form as a guide to finding the exact PLACE you fit best for ministry at Your Church!

The Your Church Council is here to serve you! If you need further help in searching out the PLACE God has for you, we strongly recommend that you call one of these people for more information. We’d like nothing better than to be involved in your exciting journey into God’s PLACE for you!

Date: _______________________________________________

Name: _______________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

Phone: _______________________________________________

The ministry I am currently involved in is:

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

PERSONAL SPIRITUAL GIFTS...

Answers the question, “What will I do within my area of ministry?”

(List top three scores from page 9)

q Administration (Efficiency) q Interpretation (Understanding)

q Apostleship (New ministries) q Knowledge (Awareness)

q Discernment (Clarity) q Leadership (Direction)

q Encouragement (Affirmation) q Mercy (Care)

q Evangelism (The Good News) q Miracles (God’s power)

q Faith (Confidence) q Prophecy (Conviction)

q Giving (Resources) q Shepherding (Nurture)

q Healing (Wholeness) q Teaching (Application)

q Helps (Support) q Tongues (A message)

q Hospitality (Acceptance) q Wisdom (Guidance)

LONGING...

Answer the question, “Where (in what area) will I do my ministry?”

(Age-level ministry) (Ministry type)

q Babies-Kinder q Outreach

q Elementary q Growth

q Junior High

q High School

q College Age (Other ministry passion)

q Young adult/career i.e. homeless, fellowship, evangelism,

q Singles mercy, sports, tech, etc.

q Married ______________________

q Men’s ministry ______________________

q Women’s ministry ______________________

ABILITIES...

Also helps answer the question, “What will I do within the area of ministry?“

(Skills or talents you have)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

COMFORT ZONE...

Answers the question, “How will I operate within my area of ministry?”

(Personal style)

How are you energized? (Please put an X on the line where you are)

|________________|________________|________________|________________|________________|________________|

Task-Oriented People-Oriented

(By doing things; (By interacting with people;

priority – meeting goals) priority – relationships)

How are you organized? (Please put an X on the line where you are)

|________________|________________|________________|________________|________________|________________|

Unstructured Structured

(Prefer flexibility; (Prefer detailed plans;

enjoy variety) seek closure & details)

EXPERIENCE...

Also helps answer the question, “Where (in what area) will I do my ministry?”

(Ministry, life experience, education &/or vocation that God has used to prepare you for your unique PLACE in ministry)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

I am now ready to seek my PLACE!

Thank you for filling in the assessment, pulling it out of this book and returning it to the Church Council. On the next three pages you will find a place to record your assessment results to keep in this book for your records.

My PLACEment assessement results

(for you to keep) Date: _______________

P ersonal spiritual gifts...

Answers the question, “What will I do within my area of ministry?”

Below are brief descriptions of the spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament. Rate each description as to how well it describes you, as you know yourself and have heard others comment about you. Remember, it is what is true of you now, not what you hope to be true about you in the future.

Place a number from 0-5 as you read each spiritual gift description; transfer top three scores to page 6.

0 = Never true of me 1 = Rarely true of me 2 = Sometimes true of me | 3 = Occasional true of me 4 = Often true of me 5 = Almost always true of me

Gifts are the divine enablement to...

___ Administration (...efficiently organize procedures that accomplish the goals of the ministry)

___ Apostleship (...start and oversee the development of new churches or ministry structures)

___ Discernment (...distinguish between truth and error and to discern good from evil spirits)

___ Encouragement (...present truth so as to strengthen, comfort or urge to right action)

___ Evangelism (...effectively communicate the gospel to unbelievers)

___ Faith (...trust God’s promises with conviction and unwavering belief in God’s ability to fulfill his purposes)

___ Giving (...sacrificially, cheerfully and liberally contribute money/resources to God’s work)

___ Healing (...be God’s means for restoring people to physical, emotional and spiritual wholeness)

___ Helps (...accomplish practical and necessary tasks to free up and support others to use their gifts)

___ Hospitality (...care for people by providing fellowship, food and shelter)

___ Interpretation (...build up the body by making known the message of one who is speaking in tongues)

___ Knowledge (...bring God’s truth to the body through a illumination or biblical insight)

___ Leadership (...cast vision, motivate and direct people to harmoniously accomplish the purposes of God)

___ Mercy (...empathetically, cheerfully and compassionately help those who are suffering or are in need)

___ Miracles (...authenticate the ministry and message of God through supernatural interventions which glorify Him)

___ Prophecy (...reveal and proclaim truth relevantly for understanding, correction, repentance or edification)

___ Shepherding (...nurture, care for and guide people toward ongoing spiritual maturity and Christlikeness)

___ Teaching (...understand, explain and apply the word of God causing greater Christlikeness in listeners’ lives)

___ Tongues (...speak, worship or pray in a language unknown to the speaker)

___ Wisdom (...apply spiritual truth effectively to meet a need in a specific situation)

LONGING...

Answer the question, “Where (in what area) will I do my ministry?”

(Age-level ministry) (Ministry type)

q Babies-Kinder q Outreach

q Elementary q Growth

q Junior High

q High School

q College Age (Other ministry passion)

q Young adult/career i.e. homeless, fellowship, evangelism,

q Singles mercy, sports, tech, etc.

q Married, young & middle ______________________

q Men’s ministry ______________________

q Women’s ministry ______________________

ABILITIES...

Also helps answer the question, “What will I do within the area of ministry?“

(Skills or talents you have)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

COMFORT ZONE...

Answers the question, “How will I operate within my area of ministry?”

(Personal style)

How are you energized? (Please put an X on the line where you are)

|________________|________________|________________|________________|________________|________________|

Task-Oriented People-Oriented

(By doing things; (By interacting with people;

priority – meeting goals) priority – relationships)

How are you organized? (Please put an X on the line where you are)

|________________|________________|________________|________________|________________|________________|

Unstructured Structured

(Prefer flexibility; (Prefer detailed plans;

enjoy variety) seek closure & details)

EXPERIENCE...

Also helps answer the question, “Where (in what area) will I do my ministry?”

(Ministry, life experience, education &/or vocation that God has used to prepare you for your unique PLACE in ministry)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Now transfer your answers to the center page, remove and put in box!

What happens once I’m placed?

1. You will make a specific request to be involved in one (or more) particular ministry.

2. The chairman of the committee for which you would like to volunteer will contact you, since they are responsible for determining how individuals might fit into their committee. They can provide a description and any orientation or training that might be necessary for you to become fully involved in that committee’s ministry.

3. Your committee chairman will be responsible for organizing the activities of the committee, providing direction to you, and reviewing your service – as well as recognizing and giving appreciation for your efforts. They are committed to your on-going development in service for the Lord, even if it’s in a different ministry area.

4. If at any time you desire to discuss your PLACEment, or any problems, feel free to talk with your committee chairman and/ or any member of the Council of Elders.

5. You can expect to be used by God to make a difference in people’s lives ... and in the Kingdom!!