SPECIAL Blueprint

Unwrap Your Special. Unleash Your Potential.

“I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it’s true
You’re a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you’re covered with the fingerprints of God”  ~Steven Curtis Chapman

Overview:

What comes to mind when you hear the word, special? Perhaps a loved one, a favorite memory, your significant other, or a possession you hold dear. What if I said that YOU are special. You may not feel special right now.  When you look in the mirror or see the person you’re becoming you are at a lost for what to think. The scars of yesterday, the expectations of others, and the failures of what could have been weigh you down. But you are indeed created by God for His glory. He has a very specific and unique plan for your life. Before time began, God knew you and planned for your entrance into the world. There is no one like you–not in the pages of history, not in the here and now, and not in the untold future that lies ahead. This ministry’s main purpose is to help you discover who you are and your unique purpose in life. No matter what stage you are in life—whether it be in high school, in college, in your early forties, or those retired and in 60′s—this ministry can help you discover your SPECIAL gifts that God has given you.

The Seven Elements of SPECIAL:

Discovering these gifts involves looking at seven main areas that make up the acrostic SPECIAL:

Spiritual Gifts:

God-given abilities that are given to you to share His love and serve others. Every Christian has at least one spiritual gift through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Personality:

This makes up how you navigate through life by relating to others and opportunities.

Experiences:

All the parts of your past, both painful and positive, that makeup the person you are today. All the events of your life can help you make progress for today and into your future.

Calling:

The answer to “What is the Meaning of my Life?” Everyone has a specific person that only they can carry out. This is the central point of SPECIAL and the core of your existence. This involves your career, how you serve the body of Christ, and who you are to become. Your calling defines your destiny.

Interests:

This is what you enjoy doing and what your hobbies consist of. These are things that grab your attention and your time. They do not necessarily have to have spiritual ties. But all interests can be used for the glory of God.

Abilities:

Your set of talents that God has given you to use to make an impact for Him serving others. These are different from spiritual gifts because they are natural talents given to us from birth and can include anything from organizing to running to listening.

Longings:

The passions that God has given you so you can glorify Him on earth. Simply put, the group or cause(s) that has God put into your heart to reach and help. Longings looks at your heart and what stirs you spiritually.

The Seven Objectives of SPECIAL:

1. Establish Your Identity to Engage:

Who are we? Are we unique? Does God really love us? These are just some of the questions that are addressed and answered in the SPECIAL Ministry. Our identity is by far our most important asset. Without it we can’t function correctly, work properly, or love others effectively. Also you’ll see how the act of surrender plays a big part in establishing your identity.

2. Embrace Your Calling With Enthusiasm:

What does God want from me? Why do I exist? What’s the purpose of my life? Your calling is the core of your being. There are three different callings we will look at: Being a follower of Christ, doing His work, and becoming like Christ. Simply put–Be, Do, and Persevere. This is in direct alignment with the SHOUT IT Ministries slogan: “Know the Truth. Live the Truth. Be the Truth.” Plus we’ll discover who the “Caller” is and the proper way to look at the term “calling.”

3. Enlarge Your Vision to Excellence:

How do I acquire the correct vision? How does my attitudes and thoughts affect my life? What does it mean to think Godly thoughts? Often overlooked among Christians in the church is the power of vision. Why do we seem to fail and never get our dreams, ambitions, and desires off the ground? Because we lack the proper vision towards what we’re aiming at. Dreams vanish. Hopes diminish. This leads to a life without focus and cluttered with chaos. Instead of settling for mediocrity, average—we must set our sights on what is excellent and above what’s expected of us. To live the life you were called to, you must learn the power of vision.

4. Express Your Gifts Effectively:

What are spiritual gifts? How do I discover my abilities and personality type? How do my passions fit into God’s plan? A large part of SPECIAL Ministry is discovering our unique gifts that God has given us: Our spiritual gifts, personality type, interests, longings, and abilities. We’ll also look into how to use our gifts serving the church, community, and into your career.

5. Examine Your Past to Exceed:

How do I overcome my failures? What purpose does my past give me? Can I learn from my mistakes? God uses every part of our life for his purposes and glory. Every mistake, failure, triumph, and accomplishment has meaning. We must train ourselves to surrender our past to God, learn from them, remember all that God has done for us, and press on towards living our lives to the fullest. Learning and growing from our past is vital in order to move forward in our lives.

6. Enrich Your Life to the Extraordinary:

Why can’t I seem to experience life to the fullest? How do attain joy in my life? What is the key to happiness? Why does my job seem to drain me? There is an increasing attitude of indifference towards living with joy and wonder in today’s church. Why? Because we focus more on following rules, traditions, and doing the bare minimum of what is required of us. Give God just enough to make Him happy and that’ll be sufficient(As if God needs us to be happy!) Why are so many people unhappy with their lives? Because we settle getting by and never leave our comfort zones. With the SPECIAL Ministry you’ll learn how to live life with joy, wonder, and adventure. God wants to give us a life of abundance, not of the wealth and health variety that many speak of today, but of something greater–a life that doesn’t depend on our circumstances, takes risks, lives by faith, loves without limits. This is what we’re searching for and this is what we’ll uncover with this ministry.

7. Enter Your Future with Eagerness:

How do I leave a legacy? How do I ensure a bright and meaningful future? What things should I emphasize towards my future? Why must I continue to wait for God’s promises? With the state of the economy and the doom and gloom around us, it’s hard to look upon our futures with optimism. How can we live for today, yet at the same time prepare for tomorrow? We’ll look at all these questions and more as we learn that not only do we have reason for optimism, but we should be overcome with excitement and eagerness towards what God has in store to us. With God we can truly say “the best is yet to come!”

The Slogan: “Unwrap Your Special. Unleash Your Potential.”

The slogan “Unwrap your Special. Unleash your Potential.” is pretty straightforward. First I choose this slogan because it’s memorable. Aren’t all slogans created to be memorable? The other main reason is the SPECIAL Ministry is to be seen from the point of view of opening gifts. Our lives are gifts themselves from a gracious God who stored in us an extraordinary potential that only you have the key to open. So it’s a simple two part process: Discover who you are by unwrapping for gifts and then from the unwrapping of these gifts we’ll live the life God meant for us to live.

How Will the Information Be Presented?

Like Truth’s Transformation, the SPECIAL Ministry is going to be presented in a book written format–but with sections instead of chapters. Also this ministry is much requires much more interaction and application on your part. In order to get the most of this ministry you have to be willing to participate with what you’re learning! There is going to be tons of questions, self-check evaluations, a wealth of resources to look at, and assessments that you’ll encounter throughout your time spent with this ministry. And it order to unwrap your SPECIAL you have to put the time and effort to learn who you are. The good news is that you can make frequent visits and take your time going through the material. All you need is internet access and you’re good to go!

What Features Will Be Included?

Each section will have a similar format: A written blog on the current topic we’re learning, further resources and links to help you further understand the material (if necessary), questions for personal application, and what’s upcoming next. Let’s take at deeper look at these features and others:

Blogs:

The written section will cover the current topic in depth and include quotes, biblical insights, and visual elements such as pictures and videos that relate to the material. Basically, what you’ll find in a Weekly Blog or Truth’s Transformation entry.

Unwrapping Your Special:

This section will have questions that relate to what we just covered helping you apply these truths into your life. By taking the time to do the personal assessment you’ll begin to discover who you are and the life you were meant to live. A separate PDF file will be created for these questions so you can print them off as well in mid-late 2012.

Gifts for Growth:

This will include internet links that relate to the material and will further help you in your self-discovery.

Career Path:

This section is completely devoted to help you discover your career calling. There will be insights, suggestions, interesting facts about what’s going on in the job market, questions for application, and much more! (Late 2012)

Dream Journey:

This section will be devoted to helping you declare your desires, pave a path to see it come into fruition with vision, and live out your dreams on a daily basis! (Mid 2012)

Wrapping it Up:

A short paragraph at the bottom of each new entry will let you in on what’s coming up next. The target date of the next entry, what we’ll be covering, and any other news necessary will be included.

How Often Will New Entries Be Written?

Starting in early 2012, there will be an average of 2 new entries per month. Why? I want you to have enough time for personal assessment and to digest the material, but not too much time that you forget what you’ve learned. Also because I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much information all at once.

Do I Have Input in this Ministry?

Yes, you will be able to express yourself in this ministry. You’ll be able to provide feedback on what features you like, what you would like to see, and your thoughts on a particular topic through contacting us through the Contact Page, leaving comments, or on the SHOUT IT Ministries community page. Also there will be polls eventually added to allow you to share how God has uniquely gifted you for His glory. Finally, they’ll be a section where you can include your story of how you found your calling or are finding your calling, what God is doing in your life, and sharing with others what your SPECIAL is. This feature will be added in 2013-2014 at the earliest.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I hope to reiterate that this ministry is very in-depth and will involve lots of extra work on your part. That’s the bad news. The good news is if you take the time and effort to understand the material, answer the questions, do the assessments, and analyze your life–you will be able to find and live out your calling! We all want to live life to the fullest and this ministry will help you take the necessary steps to do so!

I encourage you to get on board in early 2012 and start unwrapping your gifts. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please feel free to contact me at mailto:kylej317@gmail.com. The gift is you and it’s ready to be opened. Unwrap your Special. Unleash your Potential!