How to Prepare to Give Religious Testimony to Believers
Giving your testimony can be a powerful way to share your faith with both believers and nonbelievers. When preparing for this, there are several important things to keep in mind. First, remember that you probably only have 5-10 minutes to speak. While you could spend hours recounting every detail in your spiritual journey, it is better to pick out the highlights. Second, keep in mind that your testimony will be best if you are genuine. Don't be afraid to include the dark times in your life. Nobody will judge you, especially in a group of believers, and your vulnerability will highlight Christ's redemptive power.
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Instructions
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Spend some time praying before you do anything else. Ask God to clear your mind and to help you prepare a testimony that will honor Him.
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Think back to your childhood. Starting there, begin creating a bullet point list of significant events that have occurred in your life. Include experiences that are both clearly religious as well as those that may appear spiritually irrelevant. You may be surprised at how certain events connect to your faith in ways you never realized. Try to keep the events ordered so that they follow a timeline.
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Examine the list you have created. Select the major events that were the most important in your spiritual journey. Don't immediately dismiss the less religious events. For example, while your first time at church as a child is clearly a spiritual experience, it may actually have less relevance in your personal faith story than some bad relationship choices you made in high school. Be sure to include your conversion experience and perhaps a brief explanation of how things have gone since then. Remember that your testimony doesn't end the minute you become a Christian. It is always growing and changing.
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Create a flow chart using the events that you chose. Think carefully about how each event connects to the next and write a one sentence explanation for each link. For example, you may have an bullet point about how you were raised in a Christian home and another about feeling spiritually confused as a young adult. How did you get from the first situation to the second? Maybe you got involved with some bad friends, perhaps there were family problems or maybe you decided Christianity wasn't intellectually sound. Whatever the connections, be sure to identify them.
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Look over the flow chart carefully. You have the bare bones of your testimony in front of you. Now, write your testimony in paragraph form using a conversational voice. Be sure that each of the events and connections you identified are included in the final written testimony.
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Read over your written testimony several times. You should not read your testimony when giving it publicly, but it is important that you can present it without having to backtrack or stumble through details. Reading through what you have written will help you memorize the details and overall flow of your personal testimony.
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Practice giving your testimony. Do it at least three times. While you can just do it in front of a mirror, it may be helpful to enlist the help of a close friend who can be your practice audience. Keep your written testimony in front of you just in case you get lost, but don't read from it. Remember that you are not giving a speech, so the wording you use each time you give your testimony doesn't need to be the same. Think of giving your testimony as sharing a narrative of your faith.
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Pray right before you give your testimony. Ask God to give you courage and to let the words that come out of your mouth point to Him. Remember that this is about Him, not you.
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Relax when you present your testimony. Speak slowly and clearly, taking deep breaths. If it would make you feel more comfortable, you can keep your written testimony with you. Just try to avoid reading directly from it.
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References
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