This summer, we’re coming together as a church family to share our testimonies for one another’s encouragement and the hope that others might see “…the reason for the hope that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:15b). Through this series of blog posts, we’ll explore: the structure of a basic testimony and the structure of a helpful testimony through the lens’ of men and women throughout Scripture. At the end of our short study, we will have the chance to take what we’ve learned and apply it to sharing our testimony with others.
The Structure of a Basic Testimony
In this post, we’ll be focused on the structure of a testimony to God’s work in our lives. As Pastor Patrick took us through Acts 21 and 22, we saw that Paul’s personal testimony to the crowd within the temple serves as a great example of how to share our faith in Christ without getting bogged down in needless or unhelpful details that often work against the gospel. As we saw in the text, a testimony breaks down into three parts…
1. Your Life Before Christ
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Share your thinking and lifestyle before encountering Jesus.
Avoid the trap of needless detail in your life story and background. Too many details in those areas tend to lead people to connect faith exclusively with places, people, and culture. Keep it short and sweet.
The aim is to neither minimize nor glorify your sin. Avoid shirking responsibility for your sin, as dismissing it makes it seem as though a Savior is not needed. Similarly, don’t turn your testimony into the “Sin Olympics.” Keep it simple and accurate as you take responsibility for your past actions and set the stage for your encounter with Christ. Speaking of which…
2. Your Encounter With Christ
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:4-9)
You won’t go wrong to simply answer the following: who, what, when, where, how, and why.
When did you come to know Christ and follow Him as Lord? Where were you when the Holy Spirit brought conviction of your sin and helped you to see your need for the Savior? Who was sharing the gospel or preaching the text through which the Spirit worked to draw you? How did the Gospel impact you that day or during that season? Why did you embrace Jesus and bow to His Lordship?
Be simple, straightforward, and honest: don’t hyperbolize or “dress up” the story of your conversion, as it could move others to believe they need to seek out an incredible “mountain-top experience” to come to faith in Jesus. Simply strive to be accurate and honest. Similarly, if the circumstances were incredible, simply say so and describe them straightforwardly!
Share the aftermath of your conversion: believing mentors that affirmed your faith, those that invited you to church, and/or your baptism. We want people to see the connection between faith and getting involved the local church. We are saved from sin, for God, into the Church and onto mission. Speaking of which…
3. Your Commission from Christ
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)
Briefly describe how your life is changed since beginning your walk and life with Christ, the work to which He has called you, and the gifts He has given you for that work. How you are following Jesus to this day? Avoid glorifying yourself by giving credit to God for His faithful keeping of you and provision for you. Focus on your joy in serving Jesus, not duty or guilt.
In a nutshell: BE CLEAR, BE REAL and BE CONCISE. There will be times in which you can really sit down and share your testimony in detail over a meal or coffee, but, most often, you will be sharing a shortened version in daily conversation with others. Strike a balance between detail and brevity. We’re aiming at walking the line well between too much detail (disrespecting a person’s time or attention span) and too little (robbing the Gospel of its meaning, impact and work.)
If we can help you at all in this endeavor please don’t hesitate to reach out!