If you want a sense of the whole assessment before you begin, or to scan it later as a refresher, use this section. It tells you in one place what each part of the assessment is for, what each gift is fundamentally about, and what you will be asked to do.
The structure of the assessment
| Part | Purpose | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Three | Preliminary reflection | Six open questions to listen to your own heart before scoring. |
| Four | Gift questionnaire | Five “experience” statements per gift, each answered Never, Sometimes, or Often, plus one “calling indicator” for dormant gifts. Eighteen gifts in total. |
| Five | Scoring | Combine your Experience score (out of 15) and Pull score (out of 3) using a four-quadrant reading. Identify your top three to five inclinations. |
| Six | Shadow side check | For each top area, examine the distortions and counterfeits. |
| Seven | Fruit of the Spirit | Honest reflection on each of the nine facets of Spirit-formed character. |
| Eight | Community confirmation | A page to give to two or three trusted believers. |
| Nine | From discernment to service | Concrete next steps for serving in your areas of gifting. |
The eighteen gifts at a glance
This is what each gift is fundamentally about. Take a moment to scan the list and notice which ones you are drawn to, surprised by, or resistant to — your reactions can be revealing.
| # | Gift | Fundamentally about |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercy | Compassion in action toward the suffering |
| 2 | Healing | Restoration of bodies, hearts, and lives broken by sickness |
| 3 | Helps | Practical service that frees others to flourish |
| 4 | Giving / Contributing | Spirit-empowered generosity for kingdom purposes |
| 5 | Hospitality | Welcoming the stranger; opening home and table |
| 6 | Administration / Leading | Stewarding the community’s life so the mission flourishes |
| 7 | Exhortation / Encouragement | Coming alongside to strengthen, comfort, and call forward |
| 8 | Teaching | Faithfully handing on God’s truth so disciples are formed |
| 9 | Pastoring / Shepherding | Knowing, feeding, protecting, and leading the flock |
| 10 | Word of Wisdom | Spirit-given counsel for specific situations |
| 11 | Word of Knowledge | Spirit-given understanding for the building up of others |
| 12 | Discernment of Spirits | Distinguishing the genuine from the counterfeit |
| 13 | Apostleship | Pioneering and laying foundations for new gospel work |
| 14 | Evangelism | Heralding the good news of Jesus Christ |
| 15 | Prophecy | Speaking forth God’s Word for upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation |
| 16 | Tongues and Interpretation | Spirit-given prayer and worship, with interpretation |
| 17 | Faith | Spirit-given trust for what God will do in particular situations |
| 18 | Miracles / Workings of Powers | God’s Power acting through His people for His glory |
The fruit of the Spirit
Before you complete the gift questionnaire, remember this: the gifts are given for the building up of others, but they only fulfil their purpose when rooted in the soil of the fruit. Without the fruit, even the most extraordinary gifts produce nothing of lasting value. As you go through this assessment, hold both together — the gifts and the fruit. The fruit is for every Christian: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23).
Note on dispositional vs. manifestation gifts
As you work through the questionnaire, you will notice that some gifts are framed in terms of temperament, instinct, and consistent inclination (mercy, helps, hospitality, teaching, etc.) — these are dispositional gifts (the inherent qualities or natural tendencies God has woven into who you are). Others are framed in terms of what the Spirit has done through you on particular occasions, often confirmed by others (healing, miracles, prophecy, word of knowledge, etc.) — these are manifestation gifts.
This matters because dispositional gifts can be self-recognised reasonably well; manifestation gifts almost always require external confirmation. If you are uncertain about any of the manifestation gifts, the most honest answer on the experience statements is often a 1 or 2, reflecting the absence of confirmed experience, rather than what you hope might be true.
Note on dormant gifts — the Calling Indicator
Scripture itself acknowledges that gifts can be present in a person but not yet exercised. Paul tells Timothy not to “neglect your gift” and to “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you” (1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6). For each gift, after the five experience statements, you will be asked one further question: a Calling Indicator measuring whether you sense a strong, persistent, Spirit-given pull toward this gift, even where you have not yet seen significant fruit.
In other words: the five statements ask, “Has this gift been operating in me?” The Calling Indicator asks, “Is the Spirit drawing me toward this, even where it is not yet operating?” Both are part of honest discernment. A gift can be present in seed form long before it bears visible fruit — hence Paul’s pastoral language to Timothy of “fanning into flame” what God has given, and his charge to “meditate on these things” so that growth becomes visible to all (1 Timothy 4:14–16).
This is not licence to claim any gift you wish. The pull must be settled, persistent, and confirmable in community. But its absence from earlier assessments has been a real pastoral problem — someone called to a gift can score very low on experience and conclude wrongly that the Spirit has not given it. Part Five guides you through a four-quadrant reading that combines Experience and Pull, so that an established gift, a dormant gift, an established-but-plateaued gift, and a probably-not-primary gift each show up as what they are.
Whatever pull you mark must finally be tested in the body. The Spirit calls; the church confirms; the elders pray and lay on hands; the work begins (Acts 13:1–3; 1 Timothy 4:14). The Calling Indicator is one strand of discernment, not the whole. The other strands are: confirmation by mature believers and elders, conformity to Scripture, the fruit of the Spirit, and the building up of others rather than self.
As you answer
Each statement is rated Never (1), Sometimes (2), or Often (3). Four things are worth holding as you go:
- Answer based on actual experience, not aspiration. Score what is, not what you wish were so.
- Where uncertain, lean low. “Often” indicates a clear, observable pattern, not just a possibility.
- For manifestation gifts, consider not only your own conviction but what others have confirmed.
- Take your time. You may pause between gifts and return to the assessment later.
After each gift you will have two subtotals: an Experience subtotal (the sum of the five statements, out of 15) and a Pull score (the single Calling Indicator, out of 3). Part Five guides you through interpreting them together.