If you’re a Christian, you have a testimony of faith. God has changed your life and made you into a new creation (Hallelujah!).
As a new Christian, you may be struggling with what to say when someone asks you for your testimony. What should you include? How should you retell the story?
There are a few things to consider when sharing your testimony of faith. Keep reading to learn how to share your testimony of faith.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links and we may receive a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you sign up or purchase products or services mentioned.
What is a testimony of faith?
First, let’s start off by answering the question: What is a testimony of faith?
Your testimony of faith is the story of how God has saved you and changed your life. Typically, people include their life before, during, and after Christ.
What does the Bible say about sharing your testimony?
You may be wondering what the Bible says about sharing your testimony.
The Bible doesn’t say anything directly about sharing your testimony, but there are a few passages that indicate someone sharing what God has done in their life. I will outline two of these stories.
The first story is told in Mark 5. In Mark 5, we read about how Jesus heals a man who’s demon-possessed. Come to find out, he has many demons in him. Jesus heals the man and sends the demons into a herd of pigs.
At the end of the story, Jesus tells the man he healed, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled,” (Mark 5:18-20 ESV).
The second story is told in John 4. In John 4, we read about a Samaritan woman who’s approached by Jesus at a well. Jesus has an exchange with her about giving him a drink of water from the well. Jesus does something surprising and asks her to bring her husband. She answers that she has no husband. He calls out her sin and tells her that she’s had five husbands and the one she has now isn’t her husband.
Later on in the story, it says, “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world,” (John 4:39-42 ESV).
Now to get to the meat of the matter. Here’s how to share your testimony in 3 minutes or so.
Pray about it.
First, pray about it. Ask God to give you the words to say when explaining your testimony of faith.
Pray for the tact to discern between sharing too much and too little. I’ve noticed I tend to share more or less depending on my audience.
Pray to remember to make your story about God and not you. God should be the main character of your story, not you.
Pray for the person who’s hearing your testimony. Pray they would be encouraged and positively impacted by your story.
Think about your life before Christ.
Now, think about your life before Christ.
Here are a few questions to get you started:
- What were you like?
- What kind of lifestyle did you live?
- Did you grow up in a faith background?
- What was that like?
- What kind of thinking did you exhibit?
Think about the turning point in your life.
Okay, now think about the turning point in your life.
Here are a few questions to get you started:
- What happened to make you curious about Christianity?
- How did you hear the gospel?
- What was your experience with accepting the gospel?
- What did God do to draw you to him?
Think about how Christ has changed your life.
Now, think about what’s happened since being saved.
Here are a few questions to get you started:
- How has God changed your life?
- How has God changed your thinking?
- How has God displayed his faithfulness in your life?
- What has God taught you?
Write out your testimony.
You’ve thought about all the pieces that bring together your testimony. I believe it’s good practice to write out your testimony. It helps you remember all the aspects of your testimony.
It’s also good to refer to when you need reminding of what God’s done in your life.
Practice and keep it short.
Finally, practice and keep your testimony short when first sharing it with others. Typically taking 3-5 minutes on your testimony is enough. Of course, there may be instances where you can share more.
Your testimony is important. It’s a story of what God’s done in your life to save you and bring you into the family. You’re now adopted as a child of God.
Your testimony of faith can encourage and stir others to action. Just remember the Samaritan woman. Her story caused others to become curious and see what this Jesus was about. Your story can do the same.
Be sure to also read: