Here is a brief definition of each of the spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament.

Administration is a gift that enables one to provide leadership and guidance in matters of organization and administration. The administrator serves by recognizing and co-coordinating the abilities and gifts of other members of the group, institution, or church.

Apostleship is the ability to communicate the Christian message across cultural (and frequently linguistic) barriers and plant a Christian church where there is no knowledge of the gospel. The term in Greek (apostolos) and Latin (missio) means "a sent one" or "a messenger." The rough modern equivalent is a pioneer missionary.

Compassion transcends both natural human sympathy and normal Christian concern, enabling one to sense in others a wide range of emotions and then provide a supportive ministry of caring.

Discernment is the ability to read or hear a teaching or to consider a proposed course of action and then determine whether the source behind the teaching or action is divine, human, or satanic.

Evangelism is the special ability to lead unconverted persons to a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. Persons with this gift are able to help others to a life-changing decision that moves them to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Exhortation is the ability to call forth the best within others through the ministry of understanding, encouragement, and counsel. This gift equips one to lift up and strengthen others by helping them to move from their problem to a resolution of that problem.

Faith is the special ability to "see light at the end of the tunnel," even though others are unaware of divine possibilities in a situation. This gift results in one's having extraordinary confidence in God, and it enables that person through prayer to tap God's resources in behalf of others.

Giving empowers one in an extraordinary way to understand or discern the material or financial needs of others and then meet those needs generously. The more one uses
this gift the more God prospers one so that the person with this gift is enabled to give still more.

Giving aid literally means in the Greek "he who provides leadership in giving aid." This gift equips one to see practical needs and co-ordinate the resources and abilities of others so that those needs are met.

Healing enables one to function as an instrument of God's healing grace in the lives of others. The gifts of healings (double plural in the Greek text) extend to the healing of the body, the mind, and the emotions.

Help is a gift that leads to practical ministries to others, which relieve them, in turn, to perform still wider ministries.

Miracles refer to the superseding of natural law. In the Book of Acts this gift most frequently relates to healing and to exorcism (E.g., Acts 19:11-12).

Prophecy is the ability to present God's word with clarity and power. The primary ministry of this gift is not prediction or foretelling; it principally has to do with declaration or forth telling.

Teaching is the ability to understand and communicate the Christian faith so as to make truth clear to others. The end result of this gift is the maturing of Christian believers so that they may be more effective Christian disciples.

Tongues enable some Christians to praise God either in another language not yet learned (Acts 2) or in ecstatic utterance that is not an earthly language (1 Corinthians 14). In either case one's prayer is addressed to God, not to other people (I Corinthians 14:2).

Serving is a task-oriented ministry that results in the supplying of material and temporal services to others in the Body of Christ, thereby freeing them to perform still other ministries.

Shepherding is the ability to give pastoral leadership to an individual or to a community of Christian believers. The primary function of this gift is to feed, guide, and nurture other Christians with sensitivity and sacrificial concern.

Word of Knowledge is knowing a fact or the truth about a person or a situation as the Holy Spirit directly reveals it.

Word of Wisdom relates to a special illumination that enables one in a specific instance to grasp divine insight regarding a fact, situation, or context.