Gifts for the Team
Gifts for the team — and your place in the mission
Think of your favourite sports team. Does everyone play the same position? Of course not! Jesus, after He rose and ascended, gave GIFTS to His church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These are not for personal status — they are ministry tools for equipping every single believer to do the work of the Lord.
And what is the work? Paul tells us: building up the body of Christ until it reaches the fullness of Christ. Every believer — including you — has a position on the team! Growing up means becoming stable and rooted — no longer like babies tossed by every wave of new ideas or popular opinion — but speaking the truth in love and growing into Christ in everything. Notice that EVANGELISTS are listed in Christ's gifts to the church — people specially gifted to share the gospel. But personal evangelism is not just for evangelists. It is the calling of every member of the team. In Scripture, every believer is expected to bring souls to Jesus. The question is not whether to evangelise — the question is how.
✨ Memory verse
“Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”Ephesians 4:15 (NIV)
Tap the words in the right order:
🎉 You did it!
Type the verse from memory:
🎵 Sing along: Truth in Love (The Team Song)
❓ Quiz time!
🖍️ Printables
👨👩👧 Parent & teacher guide
Big idea: The fivefold ministry gifts and the doctrine of personal evangelism.
Scripture understands Ephesians 4:11 to describe gifts Christ gives for equipping the whole church — the goal being every-member ministry (4:12,16). The evangelist gift (4:11) is listed before pastor and teacher, reflecting Scripture's strong evangelistic priority. The church exists not primarily to gather and be comfortable, but to equip believers to go and win souls. The 'speaking truth in love' formula (4:15) is the antidote to two errors: truth without love (harsh, driving people away) and love without truth (warm but never calling sin sin).
Scripture practices both — the preaching is direct and uncompromising, but motivated by genuine love.
Conversation starters: (1) Every believer has a 'position on the team' — what gifts or abilities has God given YOU for serving others? (2) What does it look like when truth is spoken without love? And when love is shown without truth? (3) Name one person you will intentionally share the gospel with this month. Write the name down and pray for them every day.
Pray together for your church's evangelism outreach — and commit as a family to be part of it.