Learning more about who you are, what you're best at and what you're meant to do helps you discover true joy in volunteering.
We're all unique. Each of us is created for this time and place with one-of-a-kind wiring. This wiring can be uncovered and then honed so that we can enjoy greater success in life. What do those benefits look like? Understanding ourselves can help us be more successful in our relationships, in volunteering, in our work - as well as in every other aspect of life.
We've all been made by God with a specific purpose in mind. Most people want to know what their purpose is in life. People ask, “Why am I here?” As Christians, we want to know what God’s purpose is for our lives. Yet, is that the right approach? In What's So Spiritual About Your Gifts, Henry Blackaby advocates asking “what does God want to do through me?” rather than “what can I do for God?” We might wonder what kind of tasks God has intended for us when the right question for us to ask is “what kind of me” does God want for His mission?
The Apostle Paul discusses the fact that all God's people have a specific assignment. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, he explains that the church is a body and, just like in a human body, each part has a role. The roles are different but every part is needed. Paul encourages us to volunteer as we are wired—to do our part as part of the body. If a hand attempts the do the work of the foot, two people are displaced. The foot does not have its task and the hand is poorly equipped for footwork.
God values each person and has given people unique callings. Personal discovery for the purpose of finding our fit as part of the body is biblical and useful for effective volunteering. What better way than to know the gifts, personalities and strengths of the people of in order to bring God's hope and love as the whole church to the whole hurting world?
How then shall we volunteer? According to the Bible, each one of us should serve according to the Master’s design and intention. How do we know what that is? There are a variety of ways to discover our design. Fortunately, several personal discovery tools exist that can be used to help people discover their unique design for use in God’s Kingdom. These tools can be used to assist people to discover God’s unique wiring and their specific part in the body of Christ. As such, these inventories and assessments are not prescriptive, but merely a means to aid in the discovery of God’s unique design.
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