Compare · Head to head
GiftWell vs SHAPE
SHAPE is Saddleback's framework for gifts, heart, abilities, personality and experiences, run by churches in many versions from a 20-minute class handout to hour-long online tests that report a "Top 3". GiftWell measures nine gifts in ten minutes, shows bands with the margin drawn, and imports SHAPE results on the Growing plan. Which fits your church, and how they fit together.
Checked 20 October 2026. Prices and features are from SHAPE's own pages on that date. Where a page does not mention something, this says so rather than guessing.
At a glance
As of 20 October 2026. SHAPE figures vary by version; the ones here are from one church's guide and one online test.
| SHAPE | GiftWell | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | a five-part framework (gifts, heart, abilities, personality, experiences), taught in a class | a spiritual gifts test with a follow-up list |
| Cost | free handouts to paid online versions | free to take; a church's first 50 people free, then $100/yr for 150 |
| Length | about 20 minutes in one church's class; 30 to 60 minutes in one online version with 72 gift statements | about 60 statements, about 10 minutes |
| Gifts | varies by version | 9: Romans 12 plus administration and hospitality |
| How a result is shown | one online version reports a "Top 3 Spiritual Gifts" | bands with a ±2 margin drawn, Romans 12 order, never ranked |
| The other four letters | heart, abilities, personality, experiences | the person's own words and quick picks on the result; no personality test |
| For the church | depends on the version; often a class conversation | follow-up list with words and consent; serving teams; placements with a 90-day check; Planning Center |
| Importing | SHAPE results import on the Growing plan |
What SHAPE is
SHAPE comes from Saddleback Church and Rick Warren's teaching, written up in Erik Rees's 2006 book. It is a way of looking at a whole person, and most churches run it as a class: a gifts inventory, then conversation about heart, abilities, personality and experiences. Because it is a framework, there is no single SHAPE test; question counts, gift lists and result formats differ from church to church and from one online version to another. ServeWire sells a full SHAPE online.
What GiftWell is
GiftWell is a gifts test and a follow-up list. The test is about 60 statements about what has happened in the past year, across nine gifts, in about ten minutes on a phone with no account. The result shows bands with the margin drawn: every gift within three points of the highest is in the lead band, the next within two points is "at the edge", and inside a band gifts sit in Romans 12 order. The person adds their own words and quick picks, which is where heart and experience come in, and the result reaches the church's follow-up list with consent. There is no personality section.
How they fit together
A church that teaches SHAPE and wants to keep the class can run GiftWell as the gifts inventory inside it: the ten-minute test before the class, the bands on the screen during it, the follow-up list after it. Earlier SHAPE results import on the Growing plan so they sit in the same list as the new ones. The heart, abilities, personality and experience conversation stays the church's.
Who should choose SHAPE on its own
- A church that wants a whole-person framework taught in a class, with personality included.
- A church that already has the materials and the teachers, and years of results.
- A church that wants a gifts list longer than nine.
Who should choose GiftWell
- A church that wants a gifts result in ten minutes on a phone, with no class required.
- A church that wants bands with the margin drawn rather than a "Top 3".
- A church that wants the result in a leader's hands the same day, with consent and serving teams, and a 90-day check.
- A church that wants Planning Center to hold the band names.
- A church that teaches SHAPE and wants a better gifts inventory inside it.
Questions people ask
Is GiftWell a SHAPE test?
No. GiftWell measures spiritual gifts, the S in SHAPE, and gives a first look at Ephesians 4 leanings. It has no personality section. A church can use it as the gifts inventory inside its SHAPE class and import earlier SHAPE results on the Growing plan.
Can we import our SHAPE results into GiftWell?
Yes, on the Growing plan. Imported results sit in the same follow-up list as new GiftWell results, so a church does not lose years of work by changing the inventory.
How long does a SHAPE assessment take compared with GiftWell?
It depends on the version. One church's class guide says about 20 minutes; one online SHAPE test says 30 to 60 minutes with 72 gift statements. GiftWell takes about ten minutes.
Does GiftWell rank gifts like the "Top 3" in some SHAPE tests?
No. A score from five statements is honest to about two points either way, so GiftWell shows every gift within three points of the highest as a lead band and never prints an order.
See the result for yourself
Ten 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.
This page as Markdown, for notes or an AI assistant. Every GiftWell feature named here is explained in the documentation.