The problem is that everyone is looking for a shortcut to understand something so complicated as the divine. Even the most sincere of us can only scratch the surface of the infinite. I also have been involved in more perfunctory spiritual gifts inventories and courses. Most people look for things that they think they might like or which they are good at which they are already doing. My experience is that those who are serious about ministry are called to particular ministries and given the gifts that are necessary to fulfill the call. In my experience the nature of God is almost always to call people out of their comfort zone and give them gifts for which they are ill prepared or which they really would rather not have. That is one of the ways he communicates he is in control. The old cliché is true. God equips the sent, he does not send the equipped. Your discomfort with prison ministry is not unusual. Most would have a difficult time doing it. It is a special group, in particular because to be effective is a matter of obedience not worldly standards of success. God’s plan is far more complicated than any of us can possibly imagine. If people go in with the idea they are going to convert someone, they almost inevitably fail and get discouraged and soon leave. Failure is part of the ministry, but what keeps people committed to it is a constant examination of whether they’ve done their best with the gifts God has given them and have been faithful to what he has asked them to do. As we like to say, we don’t save anyone, we merely create an opportunity for those we are ministering to to encounter God. The rest is up to the two of them. I write about some of my experiences occasionally. One of the more extraordinary circumstances I have encountered appears in my article, Prison Tales-Five Muslims and a Neo Nazi Skinhead, A Love Story