I. Writing your personal testimony
A. A personal testimony is a carefully worded verbalization of what God has done in your life. It should be your desire to present Christ in such a clear, attractive, Spirit-filled, and simple, way that those who hear will not only want to know Him, too, but they will know “how to” know Him personally.
B. One onfe the requirements for membership at Tulsa Bible church is to share your personal testimony regarding your coming to a saving knowledge of Christ. However, the long-term value of developing your testimony is so you can use it to share Christ with unbelievers, which is part of the responsibility of every disciple. The Apostle Peter puts it this way in 1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
“There can be no mistake so bad…as the greatest mistake of saying nothing for Christ.” - Henry Clay Turnbull
II. Testimony OUTLINE:
Paul’s testimony in Acts 26 is a biblical model or outline to follow when writing your own personal testimony. Paul’s format in Acts 26 is:
LEAD-IN: Acts 26:2-3
BEFORE: Acts 26:4-11
HOW: Acts 26:12-20
AFTER: Acts 26:21-23
CLOSE: Acts 26:24-29
Paul had a theme of opposing Christ and persecuting Christians before his salvation and sharing the Gospel with the Gentiles after his salvation. If you can identify a similar theme, like Strife to love, guilt to freedom from guilt, rebellion to obedience, emptiness to purpose, etc. it can be helpful.
The LEAD-IN and CLOSE will vary with each person and situation. The BEFORE, HOW and AFTER will be similar in each situation.
A. Life BEFORE Knowing Christ:
Identify one key problem and illustrate how this problem affected your life. Write in such a way that others will identify with you in past and present experiences, giving enough detail to identify with others. Emphasize point C below if you became a Christian as a small child.
B. HOW I Came to Know Christ Personally:
Be Specific! This part requires the most detail. Christ’s death for your sins and His resurrection must be interwoven into your story. Include a few verses of scripture to illustrate how this happened.
C. My Life AFTER Receiving Christ as My Lord and Savior:
Mention changes in your life for good. Illustrate how Christ dealt with problems in your life but don’t imply that Christ eliminates them all. Rather explain how Jesus enables you to work them out in His peace and confidence. Be sure to include the assurance of salvation you have in your life.
III. Testimony Do’s and Don’ts
“The Do’s”
· Ask God for wisdom as you write.
· Keep Christ central. Highlight what He has done.
· Make it sound conversational.
“THE DON’TS”
· Don’t mention denominations, organization and comments about people in a negative or derogatory manner.
· Don’t use terms that are meaningless to non Christians. Jettison the jargon.
· Don’t be too wordy, beat around the bush, or dramatically emphasize how bad you used to be. Keep it concise and simple.
IV. Testimony for Membership or Baptism
- Write the first draft of your 3 to 5 minute personal testimony. Let your membership or baptism partner look at it and work with you individually. One page of typed, single-spaced text will usually produce a 4-minute testimony.
- For purposes of sharing your testimony before the membership class please read it rather than trying to memorize it. Of course, when sharing your testimony with an individual, it is better to have it memorized so you share naturally, emphasizing or deemphasizing certain points as the situation requires
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A similar, but helpful, longer article.
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