New Research Points to Gaps in How Churches Support Congregants’ Gifts

Pastors and churchgoers alike believe an individual’s unique gifts and talents point to God and draw people to him. So are churches adequately helping to identify, support and celebrate congregants’ gifts?

For a recent report titled Gifted for More, Barna explored how U.S. adults and practicing Christians identify, develop and use their unique skills and abilities, both inside and outside church walls. The study, conducted in partnership with Lutheran Hour Ministries, also examined how pastors view giftedness in their church—and suggests the U.S. Church is due for a fresh framework for gifts.

Below, new data from Gifted for More present some of church leaders’ varying views on giftedness, as well as how U.S. adults and practicing Christians believe the Church could assist in their giftedness journey.

Pastors Believe Gifts Reflect God—But Have a Moderate Sense of Gifts in Their Congregation
Church leaders overwhelmingly believe people’s giftings reflect the God who created them (98% agree overall, 79% “strongly” so). Of many possible perspectives about giftedness that Barna presented to pastors, this statement generated the most enthusiastic response.

Overall, four out of five pastors also agree to some extent that helping people discover and develop their giftings is an important priority in their church. Nearly nine in 10 agree at least somewhat that helping people deploy, explore or practice generosity with their gifts is a priority of their church community. Looking only at the percentages of pastors who “strongly” agree with these statements, however, tempers the picture of pastoral support of gift development.

Overall, pastors have a moderate sense of the giftings present within their congregation (16% agree “strongly,” 64% “somewhat”)—at the least, they know most people’s occupations within their church (50% “strongly,” 38% “somewhat”).

When it comes to how individuals’ skills are put into action within a local church context, a slight majority of pastors—just over half (54%)—believes that congregants’ giftings should define how they show up in church ministry. In general, churches seem slow to celebrate the impact of individuals’ skills and gifts, especially when they are used outside of the church building (17% “strongly” agree, 44% “somewhat”).

Gifted for More delves deeper into some of the ways that church leaders currently have a narrow vision or a lack of structure to support congregants in gift development.

50% of Practicing Christians Who Know Their Gifts Say These Skills Are Noticed at Church
Do Christians see developing their giftings and strengths as a way to grow closer to God? When Barna asked, a majority of self-identified Christians (82%) and nearly all practicing Christians (97%)—those U.S. adults who identify as Christian and also say religious faith is very important in their lives and have attended church within the past month—agreed at least somewhat.

In this regard, the local church has the potential to play a large role in the development of congregants’ giftings. Half of practicing Christians who know and understand their gifts well (50%) say their skills are most commonly noticed at church, while one-quarter of all self-identified Christian adults (25%) affirms this. Among all U.S. adults who attend church at least once a year, only 18 percent say the same.

While all self-identified Christians also occasionally attribute the development of their gifts to either a leader at church (23%) or another church member (13%), practicing Christians are more likely to select these people as investors in their particular giftings (36% leader at church, 27% another church member).

Even so, with only one in three practicing Christians saying their leaders invest in them and even fewer noting other church members doing the same, local congregations have a gap to fill when it comes to identifying and developing the gifts of others. In fact, among those who are interested in developing their giftings, data show that half of practicing Christians (55%), 29 percent of self-identified Christians and one in five of all U.S. adults who have been to church within the past year (20%) say they would be open to growing and investing in their gifts at church.

Additional reading and resources:

• For more insights on giftedness in the Church, read Gifted for More, available on Barna Access Plus or for purchase in the Barna shop.
• Check out other Barna reports created in partnership with Lutheran Hour Ministries—Better Together, Households of Faith and Spiritual Conversation in the Digital Age— available both on Barna Access Plus and through the Barna shop.
• In addition to partnering with Barna on the Gifted for More study, Lutheran Hour Ministries has created a giftings assessment called EveryGift to help pastors and their people identify their unique skills and abilities. Check out the assessment and accompanying resources here.