The second area of weakness in the author’s church is the saints not being encouraged to discover their spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12; Rom. 12; Eph. 4). This weakness is directly related to the leaders not equipping and empowering the saints. The church has had a paucity of teaching on spiritual gifts and the saints are not encouraged to use their gifts in carrying out ministry activities as a result of the leaders doing too much of the ministry activities.
The third area of weakness is the lack of relational groups multiplying new leaders and new groups (Gen. 1:28). The church has a weekly ladies Bible study and two weekly mixed gender adult Bible studies. The leaders, however, do the majority of the ministry. Whether it is hosting the studies,
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First, they are to equip other Christians for service, and, second, they are to build up the body of Christ, to add to its numbers, to integrate its members into a harmonious community, and to promote cooperation among them. These tasks are not to be understood as “official positions.” That they are gifts of Christ makes ministry a matter of divine commissioning, not appointment to an office. Ministry is Christ’s program of service to the world and to the church, because it is entrusted to all Christians. Service is the goal and purpose of gifts until the fullness of Christ is …show more content…
The teaching should emphasize the concept stated in 1 Peter 4:10, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Earl Richard, in his book Reading 1 Peter, Jude, and 2 Peter: A Literary and Theological Commentary, comments on the emphasis of this verse on using spiritual gifts for service, “In v. 10 the author stresses even further the mutual character of service, for believers are to employ their God-given gifts (“serve each other with it”) in the manner God intended. Gifts are given for this reason, and believers as members of the household are to show themselves as honorable stewards of God’s beneficence.” As part of the teaching on spiritual gifts, the author’s church should provide a list of ministry opportunities within the church for the saints to serve in to use their spiritual