Inform the presbytery meeting that we will be reflecting together on how God as gifted us together as the Body of Christ.
Read the following from Ephesians 1:3-4, 17-19: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. . . I pray that the God of our lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.”
Then, ask them, trusting that God has provided us with the gifts we need for ministry, to respond by spontaneously identifying a gift that someone sees in either an individual or as a whole in the presbytery. It might be best to divide the presbytery in quarters and tell them that you will move from quarter to quarter asking for a verbal affirmation of a gift until a quarter is unable to continue identifying a gift. (This adds a friendly sense of competition and stimulates participation.)
When numerous gifts have been identified, read 1 Corinthians 12:27-28: “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues.”
Then conclude with a prayer giving thanks for God’s call to ministry for the churches of this presbytery and the gifts of ministry that God has provided.
