IFD Certification in

This program looks at spiritual gifts from a scriptural and theological perspective to support the use of gifts in all forms of the church today.
Learners in the program will study gifts in the Bible and history, explore their own gifts and how to support others’ gifts, and build an administrative structure for gift-based ministries in their congregation.
Develop tools to make a big impact in your spiritual gifts and gain a network of other Christian spiritual gift workers from around the country!
Certification Details
The IFD Certification in Spiritual Gifts requires just four 6-week courses of $125 each — a total of $500.
- Certification courses must be completed in order. Courses will be taught on a yearly rotation.
- Once you begin, you can complete all the courses you need for certification in just one year!
- First courses in the certification cycles are offered in either January or August, with some certifications relaunching at both times.
- This program is taught online via Blackboard Learn. Courses are mostly asynchronous, meaning you can complete the work at the time most convenient for your schedule. Daily engagement on the Discussion Board with peers, required reading, and assignments ensure a quality learning experience. Some courses offer a required or optional live video-based session – see individual course descriptions for more details.
2023 Course Dates:
August 21 – September 29, 2023
October 9 – November 17, 2023
2024 Course Dates:
January 15 – February 23, 2024
March 11 – April 26, 2024
(No class during Holy Week, 3/25 – 3/31)
August 19 – September 27, 2024
October 14 – November 22, 2024
Certification Course List
- IFDC1510 – Teaching Biblical Faith for Spiritual Gifts
- IFDC1520 – Teaching Theology for Spiritual Gifts
- IFDC1530 – Implementing Spiritual Gifts for Effective Ministry
- IFDC1540 – Administering Successful Spiritual Gifts-based Ministries
Add a Denominational Emphasis
You can add an Emphasis in United Methodist Studies to your certificate by taking just one additional 6-week course:
Enroll in the first course!
If the first course is full, or is not currently enrolling, you will be able to sign up for course opening notifications.
Meet the Instructors
Beth Perry
The lead instructor for this IFDC program, Rev. Beth Perry, has a passion for Spiritual Gifts. She took her first spiritual gift Inventory in the late 1980s. Around the turn of the century, she taught her first group of clergy about spiritual gifts and led her first congregations to explore their gifts. Since 2013, she has brought those decades of experience to almost 2000 participants as the instructor for Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts with BeADisciple.com.
Barbara Justis
Barbara Justis is a certified lay minister in the Virginia Annual Conference and is passionate about leading laity through their unique triple-D (discovery, development, and deployment) journey. She is the training coordinator and part of the teaching staff for her district Lay Servant Ministries program and excited to lead training for Nominations and Leadership Development Committee introduction to the Gifts-Based Ministry System while the team also implements components of the Simplified, Accountable Structure. She is a retired civil servant who served 42 years combined federal service, first with the United States Army and then NASA, where she committed to share her leadership and followership experience in her local church and district through the LSM Program. This included five years as a lay supply pastor for a small church in the new Coastal Virgina District. Barbara is a super-learner at BeADisciple.com, having completed 68 of her 101 accumulated CEUs through the online learning platform.