Compare · Head to head
EmmauOS vs the Lifeway Spiritual Gifts Survey
The Lifeway Spiritual Gifts Survey is a free printable PDF of 80 statements across 16 gifts, scored by hand out of 25 and drawn as a bar graph. EmmauOS is about 60 behavior statements across nine gifts on a phone, written against published research, shows bands with the margin drawn, reaches the church's follow-up list with consent, syncs Planning Center both ways and connects an AI assistant to the team. Checked October 2026.
Checked October 20, 2026. Prices and features are from Lifeway Spiritual Gifts Survey's own pages on that date. Where a page does not mention something, this says so rather than guessing.
At a glance
As of October 20, 2026, from the Lifeway PDF and EmmauOS's own pages.
| Lifeway Spiritual Gifts Survey | EmmauOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | printable PDF, self-scored | phone or any browser; no account, app or email; progress saved on the device |
| Cost | free | free to take; a church's first 50 people free, then $40/mo for 150 |
| Length | 80 statements, 1 to 5 scale | about 60 statements, 10 to 15 minutes |
| Gifts | 16, 5 statements each, scored out of 25 | 9, 5 statements each, scored out of 25 |
| How a result is shown | totals copied onto a sheet and drawn as a bar graph | bands with a ±2 margin drawn, Romans 12 order, never ranked |
| What the statements ask | a mix of "concrete actions, descriptive traits, and statements of belief" (its own instructions) | things that have happened, mostly in the past year; the research for that choice is published |
| For the church | the paper, if the person hands it in | follow-up list with the person's words and consent; two friends' confirmations; serving teams; placements checked at 30 and 90 days; weekly digest; signals and insights |
| Planning Center | every paid plan, both ways: band names out; teams, plans and open spots in; pencil someone into a plan with no email sent | |
| AI | Ask AI, which answers from your real list and acts on it when you say so; reads your website; a bookshelf from a photo; never scores anyone | |
| Privacy | nothing stored anywhere | a published list of what EmmauOS never does, with the switch for each |
| Dated | © 2003, revised 2022 | maintained; the why page carries the research |
The test itself
The Lifeway survey and EmmauOS share a design: 5 statements per gift, scored out of 25. Lifeway covers 16 gifts, so a person answers 80 statements; EmmauOS covers nine, so about 60. Lifeway's 16 include the gifts of the Spirit from 1 Corinthians 12 and some Ephesians 4 roles; EmmauOS scores the Romans 12 gifts plus administration and hospitality, gives a first look at Ephesians 4 in a short second part, and leaves the gifts of the Spirit to an optional third part a church can turn on, with its own consent.
Lifeway's own instructions say its statements are a mix of actions, traits and beliefs. EmmauOS's are written as behavior, because the research on self-report says people answer "I am patient" with the person they hope to be and "someone came to me with a hard thing this year" with what happened. That research, and the papers on gift inventories and on short scales, is on why we ask what we ask.
How results are shown
Lifeway has the person add up each gift's five answers, copy the totals onto a sheet and draw a bar graph. EmmauOS does the arithmetic and then draws the margin: every gift within 3 points of the highest is in the lead band, the next within 2 points is "at the edge", and inside a band the gifts sit in Romans 12 order. The same out-of-25 score is honest to about 2 points either way; Lifeway leaves the person to read the bars, and most people read the tallest as first and the next as second.
What happens after
A Lifeway sheet ends in a folder or a drawer, unless the church collects them and types them up. EmmauOS's result reaches the church's follow-up list the moment it is finished, with the person's own words and whether they consented to contact, next to the serving teams that need those gifts. A person can send their bands to two friends who say whether they ring true. A pastor logs the conversation, places the person, and checks 90 days later on whether it took. Band names and the date go to Planning Center fields you choose, your teams come in from Services and People, and a weekly digest lists who is waiting. An AI assistant, connected over the Model Context Protocol and scoped to a role, can work the list for the team; it never scores anyone and never contacts a member.
Who should choose Lifeway
- A church that wants paper, in a room with no phones, or for people who prefer a pencil.
- A church that wants 16 gifts including the gifts of the Spirit on one scale.
- A church that wants nothing stored anywhere.
- A church with no budget at all and no wish to run a follow-up list.
Who should choose EmmauOS
- A church that wants people to finish on a phone, from a branded QR code in the bulletin.
- A church that wants statements written against the research, with the sources published.
- A church that wants the result shown as bands with the margin drawn.
- A church that wants the result in a leader's hands the same day, with consent, and a check on whether the placement took.
- A church that wants Planning Center to hold the band names and an AI assistant to work the list.
- A church that wants a free start for its first 50 people.
Switching
A church with a drawer of Lifeway sheets can keep them. Create your church (free, no card), give EmmauOS your website so it offers your colors and ministries, connect Planning Center, and put the new link and QR code in the bulletin. If the totals are typed up, they import from a spreadsheet on every paid plan and sit beside the gifts result. Most churches run EmmauOS for new people and leave the sheets where they are.
Questions people ask
Is the Lifeway Spiritual Gifts Survey free?
Yes. It is a printable PDF (© 2003, revised 2022) that a person scores by hand. EmmauOS is free to take as well, and a church's first 50 people are free with no card.
Does EmmauOS measure the same gifts as Lifeway?
Partly. Both score each gift from 5 statements out of 25. Lifeway covers 16 gifts including the gifts of the Spirit; EmmauOS scores nine (Romans 12 plus administration and hospitality), gives a first look at Ephesians 4 leanings, and leaves the gifts of the Spirit to an optional part a church can turn on.
Can we put the Lifeway survey online instead?
Lifeway publishes it as a PDF. Several paid tools, such as ServeWire, describe gift lists drawn from Lifeway resources. EmmauOS has its own statements; on the Growing plan a church can add its own statements with the builder.
Which is more accurate?
Neither has clinical-grade evidence, and the same is true of every gifts inventory. Both score a gift out of 25 from 5 statements, which is honest to about 2 points either way. EmmauOS draws that margin on the result and publishes the research behind its statement wording; Lifeway leaves the person to read a bar graph.
What does a church get from EmmauOS that a paper survey can't give?
The result in the team's hands the same day, with consent; a follow-up list with statuses and a 90-day check; band names in Planning Center; signals and insights across the church with small numbers hidden; and an AI assistant that works the list. As of October 2026.
See the result for yourself
10–15 minutes on your phone, then the pastor's view of your own result in a demo church. If it fits, your first 50 people are free and there is no card to enter. Already using Lifeway Spiritual Gifts Survey? Run both for a month; EmmauOS writes to Planning Center fields you choose and touches nothing another tool wrote.
This page as Markdown, for notes or an AI assistant. Every EmmauOS feature named here is explained in the documentation.