Big Idea:
Your gifting is how you lead strong, but it can also blind you from seeing the totality of the Church. Christ gave five distinct ministry gifts to build a whole and healthy body. A wise leader recognizes their lean, but builds around their gaps.
Lesson Objectives:
By the end of this session, you will:
- Identify their primary spiritual leadership gift (Eph. 4:11).
- Recognize how their gifting shapes their ministry model.
- Learn the dangers of leading solely from one gift.
- Create a plan for collaborative, multi-gifted leadership in your local church.
Scripture Foundation:
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
— Ephesians 4:11-13
Teaching Outline:
1. Gifts Shape the Way We Lead
- Begin with the truth: We lean into our strengths and gifting as we lead Christ’s Church.
- Five-Fold Gifts:
- Apostles build, pioneer, expand.
- Prophets speak truth, correct, and call people to holiness.
- Evangelists win the lost, stir passion for outreach.
- Pastors nurture, protect, and care.
- Teachers bring clarity, order, and doctrinal foundation.
Teaching Point:
Your default ministry rhythm, programming, and leadership style is almost always rooted in this primary gift.
2. How Our Gifting Shapes Our Church
- If your church…
- Emphasizes Sunday salvation moments, and discipleship happens midweek → Evangelist Lean
- Has strong teaching Sundays and focuses on small groups for application → Teacher Lean
- Talks often about expansion, territory, innovation, and risk → Apostolic Lean
- Builds deep community, with a focus on care, shepherding, and belonging → Pastoral Lean
- Regularly calls people to repentance, prayer, and God’s voice → Prophetic Lean
Discussion Prompt:
“Which of these describes your current church model? Is that you or the result of someone else’s lean?”
3. The Danger of the Echo Chamber
Illustration:
Peter, an apostle, was always focused on building and expanding. But even he needed prophetic correction (Paul in Galatians 2). Apostolic drive without prophetic correction can become empire-building.
Teaching Point:
When we lead only from our gift, we risk:
- Building lopsided churches
- Starving our people of a full spiritual diet
- Burning ourselves out by trying to be what we’re not
Quote to Use:
“If I want the sheep I lead to have a balanced diet, I need to bring in what I am not.”
4. Leading in Collaboration (15 mins)
Strategy Example: Preaching Rotation Model
“Here is an example of providing a different lens for a wholistic church:
Week 1: Teaching
Week 2: Prophetic
Week 3: Apostolic
Week 4: Evangelistic”
Teaching Point:
This provided a balanced spiritual meal for the church and allowed leaders to work in their gifting.
Other ideas to consider:
- Staff and volunteer roles reflecting diverse gifts
- Guest voices to bring in what’s missing
- Raising up and empowering others with different giftings than your own
5. Reflection and Action (10 mins)
Personal Reflection Questions:
- What is your primary gift?
- Where has your gift strengthened your church?
- Where has your gift created blind spots?
Action Steps:
- Identify one voice (internally or externally) you need to bring into your leadership rhythm this quarter.
- Begin planning a series or Sunday rhythm that reflects more than just your gifting.
Assignment
- What areas of your theology brings limitations to the church?
- Is this Biblical or tradition?
- Is it a tradition worth holding on to or not?
Bonus Assignment for the Week:
Write out your church’s current ministry model (Sunday, midweek, outreach, discipleship). Identify which gift it’s most shaped by. Then list two gifts that are underrepresented and brainstorm how to begin including them in the life of your church.