Using your personal testimony to touch others
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15).
How many opportunities have you missed because you were unprepared or unwilling to share your faith? For many people, the answer is “too many”.
The most powerful evangelistic tool you have is within your grasp. It’s not a seminary degree--it’s your personal testimony. Why? Because you are the expert on what happened in your life. People may debate the reliability of the Bible, but they cannot refute your personal experience. Your testimony can be a spiritual tie-in at any point in a conversation. But you must be prepared. You should be able to tell your testimony in a short version (less than one minute) and in a longer version (three minutes max).
There are three parts to a personal testimony:
*Life before Christ. Choose a descriptive word for your life before Christ. If you were a child when you became a Christian, think how your life might have turned out without Christ. Your word might be empty, boring or purposeless.
*How you became a Christian. Where were you? (At church, at camp, at home?) How did you become a Christian?
*Life after you met Christ. Choose another descriptive word of your life as a Christian. You might say something like meaningful, fulfilled or exciting. Describe some tangible benefit that God brings to your life today.
For example, you might put these simple cue-words into a paragraph like this:
I grew up in a Christian home, Even though I attended church every Sunday with my family, my life still seemed empty. When I was sixteen years old, I attended a church camp and heard the Gospel in a fresh way. I talked with my pastor one day at camp and told him I was ready to receive Christ as my Savior and Lord. He helped me say a prayer to God to ask him to forgive me of my sins and to come into my heart. Since that time, my life has been complete. Now that Jesus is with me, I no longer feel lonely, as I once did.
Many people make the mistake of over-emphasizing part one, life before Christ. It is especially tempting to camp out in this part of your story if you had a rebellious past. The most important and powerful part of you testimony is not what your life was like before Christ-it is the difference he makes in your life now. This should be the longest part of your testimony, and it is what will appeal to people. Because God is always at work in your life, keep your testimony fresh and updated. Look for opportunities to tie your testimony into everyday conversations. With practice, you’ll become more confident sharing your faith and even more aware of the many people you encounter who will be changed by your story.
