For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do.Ephesians 2:10
A new resource has been launched by the Diocese to help churches to provide spaces for people to identify and develop their God given gifts and skills.
Your SHAPE for God's Service is series of three sessions designed to help churches to enable people to discover their unique SHAPE, the gifts God has given them and how they might use those in His service.
Tim, who led a group in South Bristol, said: "The sessions really helped people to see their gifts in a new light, sometimes for the first time, and they became excited to use them for God in the service of others!"
Session 1 invites people to consider their identity as disciples and to develop a biblical understanding of discipleship, taking time to reflect on their experiences as followers of Jesus thus far.
Session 2 provides people with the tools to explore their spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, passions and experiences.
Session 3 leads people to consider how God might be calling them to use their gifts and skills in God's service in the world and the church.
Julie and Kate, who participated in a group in West Bristol, said: "I found the sessions helped me see how much I had grown in my gifting over the years and where God might be leading me now.
"It was a real blessing to take time out from a busy life to really listen to what God might be calling me to next. It's so easy to get into a habit with activities or just do things because you're asked to and not stop to ask God if that is really what He wants you to be doing."
You can download the resource to use in your parish by clicking here.