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Preparing Your Personal Testimony

Chicken Soup for the Soul books are one of the best selling series books ever—because they contain one personal testimony, on a variety of subjects, after another.

1 Peter 3:15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

 “They overcame him…by the word of their testimony.”  Rev. 12:11

 We should know the reason we became Christians, and how we were converted. It is important that we learn how to share our testimony in a way that is effective. The man with an experience is not at the mercy of a man with an argument. A skeptic may disagree with what we say, but he cannot truly deny our experience.

Your testimony is not the Gospel message, but illustrates the gospel. Your story is the frame for the picture and the setting for the jewel. We are giving a personal account of how God has dramatically impacted our lives.  We are testifying about our own personal encounter with God and how He has impacted us.  A personal testimony is the most non-threatening way to tell a non-believer why Jesus is important to you.  Everyone has a story!  What is yours? 

The Value of Sharing Your Testimony

1. When people hear about your life, they will relate it to their life.

2. It will make the Gospel message relevant and practical to the listener.

3. It demonstrates that Jesus Christ is the answer.

The Values of Preparing Your Testimony

1. You will know what you are going to say.

2. You will not forget the most important parts.

3. Your testimony will be orderly and much more readily received.

Three times in Scripture, Paul gave his testimony. That speaks for itself. You may not have had a Road to Damascus experience, but you have experienced the One Paul experienced on the road. You were on the Road of Sin. You saw the light. God opened your blinded eyes. You came to know Him whom to know is life eternal. You had a Road to the Cross experience.

Do’s and Don'ts of a Strong Personal Testimony

1.  Ask the Lord to give you wisdom and guidance in what you should share.

2.  Be careful to define Christian words that the average non-Christian would not understand.

3.  Don’t glory or boast about your past sins and resist glorifying self.

4.  Exalt Jesus throughout.

5.  Make it clear that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

6.  Resist exaggerating.  (Don’t feel that your testimony is boring compared someone else’s.  If your testimony is sincere and real, it will be impactful.

7.  Use one or two scripture verses at the most.

8.  Tailor the witness to the occasion.

9.  Don’t mention church denominations in a negative way.  Never speak critically about any other individual or group.

10.  Keep it short—3 minutes.

Preparing Your Testimony

The Three Components:

 1.  My life BEFORE Christ

2.  My encounter WITH Christ

3.  My life IN Christ

 My life BEFORE Christ:

Before I met Jesus my life was…

What did my life revolve around?

What issues or things were important to me?

What did I think of God? Of Jesus?

On what did I rely for security and happiness? 

Where did I search for answers?

Was I exposed to any other religion?

My encounter WITH Christ:

How I received Christ…

When did I become born-again? 

Where was I? Alone in my room? At a church service?

Had others planted seeds in my heart that led up to this moment? 

What was the deciding factor in realizing my need for Jesus?                

Did someone lead me to Jesus?

How did I yield my life to Christ? What did I say?

My life IN Christ:

Since I made Jesus the Lord of my life…

Do I remember anything specifically happening initially?                    

How did God answer my prayers, or strengthen me in difficult situations?

How was I different than I was before?

How have the changes in my life influenced others around me?          

How did I know for sure that I was saved?

If you effectively give you testimony and couple it with the Gospel message, you will have successfully communicated to a person what it means to be a Christian and how to become one themselves.