When I was in my early 20s, I was looking for a part-time job to have while I finished my undergraduate degree. My (future) father-in-law, Ash, suggested I apply for a Youth Director position at a local United Methodist Church. My response: “I don’t like working with youth.” He asked, “Have you ever worked with youth?” When I reluctantly said, “…no…” he challenged me not to assume I wouldn’t like it, but give it a try. “At the very least, apply and see if you get an interview.”

Long story short, I got the job and learned that working with youth is one of my gifts and actually a great joy. Teenagers are imbued with a healthy dose of skepticism and can tell when someone isn’t being authentic or all-together truthful. (And they’re not afraid to call you on it, either!) They’re often comfortable with asking questions and are open to learning different viewpoints (at least more so than most adults). And they don’t take themselves too seriously, so they find my sarcasm and goofiness entertaining. 

My years in youth ministry taught me important lessons about faith: 

• “It’s not all about you, Pastor Heidi!” 
• Authenticity and openness will expand your faith, while certainty will stifle it. 
• Spending time with someone is never a waste, and ice cream can always make a bad day better.

Years later, I took a Spiritual Gifts Inventory and learned that my gifts of wisdom and shepherding (combined with my personality and interests) are what make working with youth so life-giving for me. When I shared this with Ash, he said, “Yeah, I know. That’s why I suggested you do it!”

Again and again, people tell me, “I want to grow in my faith but I just don’t know what to do!” And while I would love to sit down with each and every person and help you figure that out, that’s just not realistic. So, we’ve retooled this year’s Spiritual Trail Guide to help you discern this for yourself! 

In the pages of the guide, you’ll find a link to a Spiritual Gifts Inventory, and information on how various gifts correspond to different ways of serving and growing as a disciple here at BUMC. Use the Spiritual Gifts Planner as a starting point to record your top three gifts and start to see where they connect.

Our dear Dana created most of these resources for our New Member class last year. But we want everyone—not just those who are members or becoming members—to learn how God created them with unique gifts to bring joy to themselves and others! If you take the inventory and find yourself going, “Hmm…” 🤔 then give me a call—I’ll use my gift of discernment to help!

by Rev. Heidi Welch, Senior Pastor, September 2025