Guidelines For Sharing Your Testimony

PURPOSE
A personal testimony is not simply a story of how God rescued someone from a life of horrible sin or situation. It is an account of how God transforms lives—no matter where the person comes from or what circumstances the person has experienced. Many people are encouraged by the testimony of someone who allowed Christ into their situations and how He used it to His glory. God uses each of us as we are, created in His image and transformed by His power."

Always keep in mind 'why' you are sharing your testimony. Before sharing your story, carefully consider your motivations for doing so. While it may be personally rewarding to be honest and open about your experience, remember that you have an important obligation to your audience members. Make sure you leave your audience with the message that there is hope and help is available from God. Try not to inadvertently glamorize your testimony.

Be honest and authentic. Your testimony is precious and it is authoritative, something that others cannot condemn even if they try, because it is an authentic story from your real, personal experiences. Here are some suggestions to guide you in sharing your story.

As someone with a personal story, your unique experience can be an effective tool in offering hope and encouragement as well as communicating the gospel to others. A carefully prepared testimony adapts well to different situations. It enables you to speak confidently, knowing that your words are well-chosen, biblically accurate, and appropriate to the situation.

The body of an effective testimony generally includes three parts: what your life was like before you found yourself in that situation, how you allowed Christ into your situation, and how your life is different as a result of allowing Christ into your situation. Then you would only need to add an introduction (that will get the attention of the reader to your story) and a brief concluding thought.

BEFORE YOU FOUND YOURSELF IN THAT SITUATION

• What things were most important to you? What was the key problem, emotion, situation or attitude you were dealing with? What did your life revolve around? (Examples: money, marriage, career, etc.)
• Why were they so important? What basic need were you attempting to fulfill?
• How did you try to satisfy that need? What were your actions?

HOW YOU CONSIDERED CHRIST AS THE SOLUTION TO YOUR SITUATION

• When did you first allow Christ into your situation and how did you feel about that?
• Why did you make the decision to trust Christ and how did you specifically do that? Identify the steps that brought you to the point of trusting Christ. Where were you?
• When did you first begin to feel positive toward the situation and why? What was happening at the time?

AFTER YOU ALLOWED CHRIST INTO THE SITUATION

• How did Christ specifically satisfy the need you stated in the before section?
• What changes have occurred in your life as a result? How have your thoughts, attitudes and emotions changed?
• How do you know Christ is in your situation? Share how Christ is meeting your needs and what a relationship with him means to you now.

THE INTRODUCTION

• Your opening sentence should be more formal than it would be in a conversation with a friend. Consider using an interesting quote, a startling question, or an illustration that really captures their attention.

THE CONCLUSION

• Your conclusion should be a summary statement of one or two sentences referring back to your initial basic need and the fact that Christ now fills that need. An example would be, "I made this decision over twenty years ago. It was the most important decision I have ever made. During this time I've had a growing sense of purpose, peace, and fulfillment based on my personal relationship with Jesus Christ, not based on my successes in life."
• Remember that your goal is to explain what Christ has done in your situation and to stimulate others to think about their own situations. Do not preach.
• Leave your audience with a challenging thought. Keep in mind that they will generally comment on the last thing you say.
• Avoid tacking a Scripture verse onto the end. It is much better to put it in the "Before/How/After" portion where it best relates.

USE THE QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU REFINE WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN DOWN

1. How does this testimony come across? Do any parts of it sound patronizing, preachy, cutesy, etc.?
   
2. Is the introduction attention-catching?
3. Is the "before" portion of the testimony understandable? Do I specify a clear need?
4. Is the message so simple and clear that a non-Christian would be able to receive Christ as a result of hearing it?
5. Is the "after" portion of my testimony realistic or sound as if my life is now problem-free?
6. Is my conclusion a good synopsis of my testimony or leave the listener hanging?
7. If I used a theme, was it woven throughout my testimony?
8. Does it avoid or explain religious terms that would not be understood by a non-Christian?
9. Do I say anything in my testimony that would be offensive to a particular person, group, or denomination?
10. How would my testimony make a non-Christian feel about Christianity?

UNACCEPTABLE TESTIMONIES
Testimonies laced with sarcasm or the occult.

SUBMITTING YOUR ARTICLE
Send all submissions electronically to: submissions@todaysbeliever.org.

You may send more than one testimony at a time.

All testimonies must be submitted as a microsoft word email attachment. Please include your contact information, including your email address.

REMOVING OLD TESTIMONIES
We do not remove pieces from the archives. This is in part because removing pieces from the archives requires a great deal of work to repair all the corresponding links. Also permanent inclusion in the archives has always been a condition of acceptance, and primarily because we have no interest in dismantling something that has taken so much effort to build. In addition, we feel that there's something sad about not letting the record speak for itself. We urge you not to second guess your testimony at an earlier period in your life, just as we prefer not to second guess what we accepted for earlier issues.

REMARKS
We will DO OUR BEST, but we can't promise, to let you know if or when, it will be published. It can take several days before your testimony gets published IF it gets published. Because of limited space we cannot publish all testimonies. Unfortunately it is not possible for us to explain why your testimony has not been selected for publication.