When I went through my Seacoast campus’s Inside Track program, I took a spiritual gifts test and discovered one of my gifts was administration. I wasn’t too excited about it. I imagined myself answering a phone at a desk surrounded by filing cabinets. What was I supposed to do—be a secretary for God? It didn’t sound spiritual.
It wasn’t until I planned my first Make a Difference project for our campus that I realized the purpose of my gift. I had been involved with various outreach programs at our church, and the leader of our foster care ministry wanted to step down from her responsibilities. I started thinking about how I could continue this ministry for our campus.
Fostering Great Ideas
Online, I found the Making Memories® project developed by the organization Fostering Great Ideas that works to improve the lives of children in foster care. I spoke with David White, the founder and CEO. He said Making Memories® provided craft bags to be used during family visits, when children in foster care get to see their biological parents. The families were able to do these crafts together. Half of the children in foster care eventually returned to their parents, so helping preserve this relationship was critical. The program had declined and needed a group to revitalize it. I wondered if our church could be this group.
With the help of Pinterest and friends, I found some crafts. I created project instructions and lists of needed materials. Because I was a small group leader, I realized the project would be perfect for our small groups since it could be broken into pieces. I contacted other small group leaders with the idea. They responded enthusiastically. Before we even announced the project during a service, our small groups had committed to making 450 bags. I was ecstatic because I had promised David we would make at least 500. We ended up with over 750, and we donated thousands of additional craft supplies.
“We ended up with over 750, and we donated thousands of additional craft supplies.”
Connect and Contribute
Because this project worked so well, I looked for other assembly projects for our campus. So far, we have also packed backpacks for foster youth in college and filled shower caddies with essential toiletry items for homeless women. Through these projects, our members are learning about needs in our community, contributing a small part that is multiplied, and enjoying fellowship with their groups as they assemble the items. Thanks to my seemingly unspiritual gift of administration, I can organize our efforts.
What about you? 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.” If you haven’t already, I encourage you to discover your spiritual gifts and think about how you can use them to serve the body of Christ. Then, do something! You are uniquely gifted and important to your church, and God has a special assignment just for you.
