The spiritual gift of giving

Young Chang

Ron Etcheverry, an elder at the Costa Mesa Seventh Day Adventist

Church, says all true believers of the Christian faith are gifted by God.

So his stance is, why neglect the gifts that are given?

“Those gifts are used in the church to edify and build up the body of

Christ,” said Etcheverry, who teaches a class about spiritual gifts.

“There are all kinds of gifts that are given.”

His class, called “Training Class for Ministries,” is held twice a

year -- one session January through March and another July through

September.

Etcheverry and his students study the concept of spiritual gifts,

ministry and “the priesthood of all believers” in biblical books

including Romans, Corinthians I and Ephesians.

“We look toward helping people assess what their gifts may be, and

that is done for the intention of helping move them into ministry in the

church, so all the members can be involved in the ministry with gifts,”

Etcheverry said.

Blake Pickering, a member of the Costa Mesa church who took the class

last year, says learning about his gifts has made him more active in the

church. The lessons taught him that his talents are for teaching,

interpretation, knowledge and helping others. With a background in the

health profession -- he’s a pediatric occupational therapist -- he got

involved in the health ministry department at the church.

“A very important part of the Adventist Church is health ministry,”

Pickering said. “We treat our body as if it were a temple to God. We

treat it with respect. We try to exercise, we watch what we eat, we

advocate a vegetarian lifestyle.”

Etcheverry uses assessment materials in his class to help students

determine their gifts, which include the gift of hospitality,

intercessory prayer, evangelism, counseling, prophecy, healing, speaking

in tongues and miracles.

The assessments can be written or verbal, but church members can also

pray to learn what gifts they’ve been given.

“I scored very high in teaching, very high in interpretation and in

knowledge,” Pickering said.

Sharing his talents has helped him grow as a Christian.

“If I hadn’t taken the spiritual gifts class, I probably would be a

very passive member of the church and sit and listen,” he said.

FYI

* What: Training Class for Ministries

* When: 9 to 10:45 a.m. Saturdays, through March 23

* Where: Costa Mesa Seventh Day Adventist Church, 271 Avocado St.,

Costa Mesa

* Cost: Free

* Call: (949) 548-6596