Preparing a Testimony

Knowing that a testimony can be a powerful tool in sharing our faith you should take the time to prepare and sharpen one. You don’t want your testimony to be so prepared that it sounds like a well polished sales pitch. At the same time you don’t want to fumble through your words leaving the hearer in total confusion. You should take the time to think it out, meditate on it, and revise it as needed, so when you present it to the hearer it will be clear and to the point.
The first thing you need to consider is time. How long should your testimony be? If you are sharing your testimony during a worship service and the pastor gives you the whole service then giving a thirty minute account of your salvation story is appropriate. A lengthy testimony is also appropriate when sharing with a small group so long as you have the permission of the leader and the testimony is relevant to the small group discussion. However, if you share a thirty minute testimony with one you are witnessing to you’ve lost him twenty five minutes into your testimony. In one on one witnessing your testimony should be no longer than three to five minutes long.
Your first task in preparing your testimony is to pray. You need to spend quality time asking the Lord to show you what He would have you to share in your story of salvation. While spending time with the Lord He will bring back to mind certain aspects of your testimony that you may have forgotten about. He will also give you the words of wisdom that will pierce the heart of the hearer. Words and truths you could never think of on your own. Remember, God know the heart of the hearer-we don’t. Therefore, you need to be totally dependent on Him.
Once you have prayed you need to take the time to trim the fat and remove the excess. Remember, your testimony is your account of Jesus enacting salvation within your life and not your autobiography. You need to stay focused on the task at hand. If your story has elements that do not point to the work of Christ you need to remove it. Even, your life prior to Christ needs to point to Christ. “I thought I was helplessly trapped in my sin until I discovered I was a sinner in need of salvation.” Salvation is about Jesus; not us. We need to point people to Jesus, and not us.
Now you need to write it down. When writing something down you have a tendency to think about what you are saying a little more in-depth. At the same time you are able to read back over what you have written. Once reading over what you have written you may decide to revise your testimony. Remember, a testimony is never set in stone. It will be revised many times over through your walk with the Lord. Once it is written pray over it again asking God to reveal His approval or disapproval. Also, share it with other believers asking their opinions. Remember, Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17). Another benefit of writing your testimony is that you can leave an account of your story of salvation for generations to come. Some of the greatest testimonies I have ever heard were from those who have gone on to be with the Lord.
Your testimony is now prepared and polished. You have prayed over it and written it down. You have tirelessly revised and revamped it to the point of perfection. It is now perfect in every way. Now, don’t be afraid to throw it out. Now that you have prepared it you need to present it. During the time of your presentation you need not be led by the written manuscript of your testimony, nor your preparation, rather, you need to be led of the Holy Spirit. He may lead you to say every word you have written down. Or, He may lead you in a totally different direction because what you have prepared is not what the hearer needs to hearer. Again, God knows the heart of the hearer-we don’t.
Why then do we bother with all of the preparation? We don’t prepare so we can have a well polished document to recite. We’re not going to simply read our testimonies as we witness to the lost. How impersonal is that? We prepare so we will become intimately familiar with our personal story of salvation; not so we will be well polished and put on a good performance. If we simply recite what is in our head to the hearer it will fall flat and be ineffective. Our proclamation should always be from our heart and not our head. When we are led of the Spirit God not only leads us but empowers us. We are in a spiritual battle. Therefore, we need the anointing of the Spirit of the Lord in all we do. Rusty Kuhn