Gift of Encouragement (Romans 12:8) 

This gift is the ability to counsel, model, and encourage people through your personal testimony, life, and scripture so that people are comforted and encouraged to action. If you have the gift of encouragement, you:

• The major way through which God works in the Body to encourage each of us to live practical Christian lives.  
• Admonish people to pursue some specific course in the future (I Thessalonians 4:1).
• Comfort with the comfort you have received from God.
• Are able to encourage someone for something they are going to face in the future. 

Biblical Examples:

• Barnabas – “Son of Encouragement” 
• Acts 4:36, 37 — Helped needy saints 
• Acts 9:27 — Endorsed an unwelcome convert 
• Acts 11:19-24 — Accepted alien behavior 
• Acts 11:25, 26 — Enlisted a promising teacher 
• Acts 13:2, 13 — Developed gifted assistant 
• Acts 15:39 — Restored a youthful deserter 

Possible Characteristics of this Gift:

• You find yourself spontaneously encouraging or affirming people. 
• You enjoy sharing aspects of your life with others believing God will use it to help them. 
• You feel free to counsel others into certain courses of action. 
• You enjoy sharing a life-changing verse of scripture with others. 
• You have personally faced many different situations in your life that God has used to help you grow in specific areas. 
• You are able to identify with the feelings and emotions of another. 
• You accompany biblical truth with practical steps of action. 
• You can see how God is using difficulties in people’s lives to produce new levels of maturity. 
• You find yourself emotionally drained after ministering to someone because of your ability to identify with another’s difficulties. 
• People are drawn to you to receive help with problems with which they are wrestling. 
• People like to be around you because you tend to cheer up people. 

Common Support Gifts:

Shepherd, Mercy, Discernment, Wisdom

Possible Ministries:

• Guest Services (Greeters, Hosts, Café)
• Online Church
• Life Groups (Life Group Leader, Young Pros Life Group Leader, College Age Life Group Leader)
• Missions (Local Missions Volunteers, Short Term Missions Trip Team, BRIDGES Missionary Care Team)
• Prayer Team
• Legacy Buddies (Special Needs Ministry)
• Student Ministry (Small Group Leader)
• Worship Team
• Sports and Rec (Coach)
• Men’s Ministry (Men’s Ministry, Seniors)
• Women’s Ministry (Women’s Ministry, Legacy MOMS, Widows, Seniors)