That is no failure of conviction. Knowing how to help church members use their spiritual gifts is mostly a question of what happens after the sermon.
Your people are asking the same question. In new research from Barna with Gloo, released September 30, 2026, 25% of young adults ages 18 to 35 say knowing their spiritual gifts is a personal reason they go to church, and 23% say exercising those gifts is (Barna, "The Personal Reasons Why Young Adults Go to Church"). It is a young adult sample of 3,049 people, so it speaks for one generation. Still, the signal is clear. A meaningful share of the people walking in are hoping the church will help them find their place.
The Season Your Church Is In
Many churches have already tried something. A spiritual gifts class. A spiritual gifts inventory for church members, sometimes 120 questions long. A ministry fair in the lobby with sign-up sheets on every table.
Those efforts did good work. People learned words for what God placed in them, and many found it encouraging.
Then the score went into a folder, and the folder went into a drawer.
Why Spiritual Gifts Stay Hidden
The gifts class stops at the score. A score tells you what someone is wired for. It does not tell you what their life looks like right now.
A woman with a strong gift of teaching may be caring for a parent this year. A man with a gift of leadership may have just started a new job and needs a season to settle. A retired couple with a gift of hospitality may be ready for more than anyone has ever asked of them.
Same gifts. Different seasons. A sign-up sheet cannot tell them apart, so the ask goes out to everyone, and the people with the most margin answer it. That is how the same faithful few end up stepping up again.
There has simply never been an easy way to see each person's gifts and the season they are in at the same time.
How to Help Church Members Use Their Spiritual Gifts
Peter wrote, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms" (1 Peter 4:10). A gift is given to be used. And use usually starts with someone seeing it.
Start with a read of the whole room. Ask each person what they are gifted in, what they are drawn to, and what season they are in today. That last question changes what you do with everything else.
Then let the season shape the ask. Some are ready for more. Some need rest. Some are new and still finding their place. Many are open to serving if asked, and they are waiting for an ask that fits their season.
Then make the ask personal. A leader who knows the person invites them into one specific role that fits both the gift and the season. Andrew did this when he brought his brother to Jesus: one person, by name (John 1:41-42).
This is the same pattern behind Mary, Martha, and the talents, where service flows from gifts that formation has already shaped. It is also why church volunteer activation goes further when it starts with people.
The follow-through belongs to your church. Your leaders make the asks, and your people lead. The read only shows you where to start.
What the Research Says
25% and 23%. Among young adults ages 18 to 35, 25% say knowing their spiritual gifts and 23% say exercising them are personal reasons they attend church. (Barna with Gloo, September 2026)
52% and 7%. About half of Protestant pastors (52%) say they have an intentional plan for discipling people in their church. Only 7% strongly agree their discipleship strategy is effective. (Lifeway Research, October 2025)
93% and 60%. Among small-town and rural pastors, 93% count members stepping into leadership as a ministry success, and 60% say developing and empowering lay leaders is a current challenge. (Lifeway Research, October 2025)
Questions Pastors Ask
Is a spiritual gifts inventory worth it?
Yes, as a starting point. It gives people language for how God made them. On its own it measures wiring. Readiness takes one more question, about the season each person is in.
What do we do after people take one?
Read the results across the whole church at once. Look for who is ready for more, who needs rest, and who is new. Then have a leader who knows each person make one specific invitation.
How do we invite people without pressuring them?
Ask for one thing that fits their gift and their season, and make "not yet" an easy answer. An ask that fits feels like being seen. A general announcement feels like a gap someone needs to fill.
The First Step
Church will always be busy. There will always be more to do, and if things go well and you grow, you will be busier still. Your people being seen, feeling heard, and invited into more will always be the opportunity of this season.
Before the next gifts class or ministry fair, start with a read of the gifts and seasons already in your church.
