How to Write your Testimony 寫得救見證
Benefits of Preparing a Testimony
1) For Yourself: To remind yourself of what God has done in your life through Christ.
2) For Friends in Christ: To draw your friends closer to you and glorify God in what He has done.
3) For Seekers: As a living example that God can and desires to change a human life through Christ.
4) *For God: To give Him glory for the life He has changed.
Benefits of Writing a Testimony
1) Helps you to gather your thoughts in an organized manner
2) Helps you to state things clearly
3) Helps you to figure out what is relevant and not so relevant
4) Helps you to keep it short and concise, prevents babbling
5) Prepares you for any opportunity, and helps to be confident in the situation.
6) It enables you to incorporate the verse into the testimony, rather than dangling at the end.
Issues That Become Obstacles When Writing Your Testimony:
1) I don’t feel comfortable sharing my testimony.
2) I don’t want anybody to know, it is behind me now, I just want to forget about it. (Denial).
3) I’m still recovering from the pain
4) My story is too personal to share
5) I’m ashamed
6) I’m embarrassed
7) I’m nervous
**Overall Key Issue: Do you truly feel forgiven for your past? Was Christ’s shed blood enough? Typically when a person TRULY experiences forgiveness and freedom from the bondage of sin, when they truly identify how their life has changed through Christ, they can’t help but share because of the grace and power they’ve received!!!
Paul’s Testimony from Acts 26 保羅的見證:使徒行傳 26
“The skeptic may deny your doctrine or attack your church, but he cannot honestly ignore the fact that your life has been changed.” Chuck Swindoll
Phase I: Before Christ Acts 26: 4-11
Phase II: Conversion Acts 26: 12-18
Phase III: After Christ Acts 26:19-23
Phase IV: Concluding Question Acts 26:27
Some Pointers Before You Start……… Use the Cups Principle:
C hrist-Centered
U se a Verse or Two
P ersonal
S imple / Short
Christ-Centered 以基督為中心
Your testimony should evolve around your personal relationship with Jesus Christ and how He impacted and continues to impact your life.
When writing testimonies, our tendency is to often speak about the people or organizations God used to impact our lives. Although such interactions are relevant, they are whom God used rather than the actual reason for our conversion and change. Our tendency is too also emphasize who we were, rather than who we have become. Don’t rob God of his glory by giving it to someone else or de-emphasizing what He has done. A good guideline would be 25-35% regarding your life before knowing Christ, 15-20% the conversion process, and at least 40% regarding your personal relationship with Christ up to today.
Use a Verse or Two: Your testimony should use a verse or two so that your testimony will have the Bible as its foundation. By using a verse from the Bible, we are again bringing the focus on God and His word as the sources of truth. However, do not use too many verses and cause the testimony to become a sermon.
Personal: Your testimony is the telling of your story, not an opportunity to preach. When writing your testimony, the words should be from the heart and speak of your experience to the depth & detail that you feel most comfortable. Be honest and do not exaggerate anything in your testimony. Your testimony is your story, so it should use the word “I”. Your testimony is not a sermon, and should therefore never use the words “you, we, or us”, except in the concluding question.
Simple / Short: Your testimony should only be 4-6 minutes in length. I recommend writing the extended version first, in order to fully understand the steps that God guided you. Then, narrow it down to the key points about your testimony that you desire to emphasize.
Phase I: Before Christ
Acts 26: 4-11
Where were you spiritually before receiving Christ, and how did that affect you –your feelings, attitudes, actions, and relationships? What are some key events or beliefs that shaped & describe you prior to becoming a Christian?
Transition: What caused you to begin considering God/Christ as a solution to your needs?
Phase II: Conversion
Acts 26: 12-18
Make sure it is simple, clear, and REPEATABLE. If the date and place is specific, focus more on the prayer you prayed, rather than the surroundings or event itself. What realization did you come to that finally motivated you to receive Christ? Specifically, how did you receive Christ?
Transition: How did your life begin to change after you trusted Christ? Was it more immediate or a process over time?
Phase III: After Christ
Acts 26:19-23
What benefits have you experienced since becoming a Christian? How has your life changed? What issues have you overcome or made advancements? Highlight your relationship with God. This should be the area of greatest focus.
Phase IV: Concluding Question
Acts 26:27
End with a question that challenges and requires a response.
Some Final Pointers To Improve Your Presentation……
Word Choice: When reading through your testimony, except for Bible verses, attempt to remove all “Christian Lingo” that a non-Christian would not understand. Your testimony should not be an exercise on learning the theological doctrines of Christianity. Words such as blessing, repentance, justified, sacrifice, broken, etc….are words that we as Christians use regularly, but will most likely not be understood by a non-Christian. Instead, we must define such words in more simple terms. For example, sin might be: breaking God’s laws or missing the mark, and broken might be: coming to a realization that I am…..
Unifying Theme: The theme is the central issue in your life that shows the CONTRAST in your spiritual outlook before and after knowing Christ. The theme needs to start with a “problem” in Phase I and get “resolved” or partially resolved in Phase II. The impact of the resolution should be seen in Phase III. Find the theme and walk people through the process and results God used to change your life. Your testimony will therefore give the audience a tangible example of how God works directly in the life of a person.
Be Ready: Be sure to sharpen your story in a safe environment such as with your mentor or within a small group, before sharing it with a friend.
“But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1 Peter 3:14-15
1) For Yourself: To remind yourself of what God has done in your life through Christ.
2) For Friends in Christ: To draw your friends closer to you and glorify God in what He has done.
3) For Seekers: As a living example that God can and desires to change a human life through Christ.
4) *For God: To give Him glory for the life He has changed.
Benefits of Writing a Testimony
1) Helps you to gather your thoughts in an organized manner
2) Helps you to state things clearly
3) Helps you to figure out what is relevant and not so relevant
4) Helps you to keep it short and concise, prevents babbling
5) Prepares you for any opportunity, and helps to be confident in the situation.
6) It enables you to incorporate the verse into the testimony, rather than dangling at the end.
Issues That Become Obstacles When Writing Your Testimony:
1) I don’t feel comfortable sharing my testimony.
2) I don’t want anybody to know, it is behind me now, I just want to forget about it. (Denial).
3) I’m still recovering from the pain
4) My story is too personal to share
5) I’m ashamed
6) I’m embarrassed
7) I’m nervous
**Overall Key Issue: Do you truly feel forgiven for your past? Was Christ’s shed blood enough? Typically when a person TRULY experiences forgiveness and freedom from the bondage of sin, when they truly identify how their life has changed through Christ, they can’t help but share because of the grace and power they’ve received!!!
Paul’s Testimony from Acts 26 保羅的見證:使徒行傳 26
“The skeptic may deny your doctrine or attack your church, but he cannot honestly ignore the fact that your life has been changed.” Chuck Swindoll
Phase I: Before Christ Acts 26: 4-11
Phase II: Conversion Acts 26: 12-18
Phase III: After Christ Acts 26:19-23
Phase IV: Concluding Question Acts 26:27
Some Pointers Before You Start……… Use the Cups Principle:
C hrist-Centered
U se a Verse or Two
P ersonal
S imple / Short
Christ-Centered 以基督為中心
Your testimony should evolve around your personal relationship with Jesus Christ and how He impacted and continues to impact your life.
When writing testimonies, our tendency is to often speak about the people or organizations God used to impact our lives. Although such interactions are relevant, they are whom God used rather than the actual reason for our conversion and change. Our tendency is too also emphasize who we were, rather than who we have become. Don’t rob God of his glory by giving it to someone else or de-emphasizing what He has done. A good guideline would be 25-35% regarding your life before knowing Christ, 15-20% the conversion process, and at least 40% regarding your personal relationship with Christ up to today.
Use a Verse or Two: Your testimony should use a verse or two so that your testimony will have the Bible as its foundation. By using a verse from the Bible, we are again bringing the focus on God and His word as the sources of truth. However, do not use too many verses and cause the testimony to become a sermon.
Personal: Your testimony is the telling of your story, not an opportunity to preach. When writing your testimony, the words should be from the heart and speak of your experience to the depth & detail that you feel most comfortable. Be honest and do not exaggerate anything in your testimony. Your testimony is your story, so it should use the word “I”. Your testimony is not a sermon, and should therefore never use the words “you, we, or us”, except in the concluding question.
Simple / Short: Your testimony should only be 4-6 minutes in length. I recommend writing the extended version first, in order to fully understand the steps that God guided you. Then, narrow it down to the key points about your testimony that you desire to emphasize.
Phase I: Before Christ
Acts 26: 4-11
Where were you spiritually before receiving Christ, and how did that affect you –your feelings, attitudes, actions, and relationships? What are some key events or beliefs that shaped & describe you prior to becoming a Christian?
Transition: What caused you to begin considering God/Christ as a solution to your needs?
Phase II: Conversion
Acts 26: 12-18
Make sure it is simple, clear, and REPEATABLE. If the date and place is specific, focus more on the prayer you prayed, rather than the surroundings or event itself. What realization did you come to that finally motivated you to receive Christ? Specifically, how did you receive Christ?
Transition: How did your life begin to change after you trusted Christ? Was it more immediate or a process over time?
Phase III: After Christ
Acts 26:19-23
What benefits have you experienced since becoming a Christian? How has your life changed? What issues have you overcome or made advancements? Highlight your relationship with God. This should be the area of greatest focus.
Phase IV: Concluding Question
Acts 26:27
End with a question that challenges and requires a response.
Some Final Pointers To Improve Your Presentation……
Word Choice: When reading through your testimony, except for Bible verses, attempt to remove all “Christian Lingo” that a non-Christian would not understand. Your testimony should not be an exercise on learning the theological doctrines of Christianity. Words such as blessing, repentance, justified, sacrifice, broken, etc….are words that we as Christians use regularly, but will most likely not be understood by a non-Christian. Instead, we must define such words in more simple terms. For example, sin might be: breaking God’s laws or missing the mark, and broken might be: coming to a realization that I am…..
Unifying Theme: The theme is the central issue in your life that shows the CONTRAST in your spiritual outlook before and after knowing Christ. The theme needs to start with a “problem” in Phase I and get “resolved” or partially resolved in Phase II. The impact of the resolution should be seen in Phase III. Find the theme and walk people through the process and results God used to change your life. Your testimony will therefore give the audience a tangible example of how God works directly in the life of a person.
Be Ready: Be sure to sharpen your story in a safe environment such as with your mentor or within a small group, before sharing it with a friend.
“But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1 Peter 3:14-15
