Everyone has their own life story, and as a Christian, the most beautiful story you can share is the story of your own testimony of faith. However, as with any other narrative writing, there are guidelines to follow in order for you to write a good testimony.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Prepare Before You Start Writing
Step 1. Pray for guidance
A testimony is an excellent means of showing your life as a Christian. Since the main purpose of a testimony is to honor God and glorify God's Kingdom, start by praying for the Holy Spirit's guidance before you write.
Step 2. Read other testimonies as examples
Get ideas for things you need to share by reading well-written testimonials from other people. You can read current testimonies or look for examples from the Bible.
- You can learn the best examples of testimony through the testimony of the Apostle Paul in the Bible by reading Acts chapters 22 and 26.
- You could also imitate a testimony you heard or read before you were converted that had a big impact on your life. If so, try to recall this testimony in detail and determine what was the strength of this testimony.
Step 3. Think about your past
Specifically, remember your living conditions and attitude before giving your life to Jesus. Ask yourself what is the most important issue for you and what is the strongest reason why you decided to repent. Include them in your testimony too.
More specifically, ask yourself what obstacles you faced at the time and how you felt when you made this decision. Try to remember why you were so desperate to change, and before repenting, what efforts you made to change your life
Step 4. Outline your testimony
Before writing your full testimony, it's a good idea to prepare an outline or a summary for each section. Basically, a testimony must consist of three parts: your life before knowing Jesus, your decision to repent, and your life after repenting.
Method 2 of 4: Revealing the Problem You're Having
Step 1. Describe your past
The first part of your testimony should contain information about your living conditions prior to accepting Jesus. In this section, focus your story on the negative. You may tell if your life has ever been very abundant materially or otherwise very lacking, but you must provide information as clearly as possible that something very important is missing from your life. To that end, you must try to draw the reader's attention to what you are lacking and to your struggle to free yourself from sin.
Prioritize specific details over general things. Instead of saying, “I am very rich materially but not spiritually developed,” describe the luxury of life you have experienced-“I was once the chairman of a very successful company with tens of millions a month in salary”-while showing readers that in at that time you also face a big problem-"My attitude was so rude that I was abandoned by my family and this condition made me feel so lost that I finally chose to comfort myself by drinking alcohol every night."
Step 2. Tell a specific story about the turning point
As the saying goes, "the darkest darkness is just before dawn." If your life suffered a lot before you repented, also describe this bad situation specifically and describe the situation as best you can.
If you've never had a problem before you turned to Jesus, this is certainly a very good thing. There's no need to try to make your condition sound more dramatic than it really is. Just describe your past life as clearly as possible by describing in detail the sadness you felt and your desire to find something more valuable. From here, continue by telling about your conversion
Method 3 of 4: Explaining Your Solution
Step 1. Tell about a time of your conversion
Try to be specific about your conversion because this is the most important part of your testimony. Describe precisely the moment when you asked Jesus to come into your life. There is no need to use spiritual terms or beautiful language to describe your conversion. On the other hand, however, it's usually better to explain when this event occurred in easy-to-understand words.
- Try to narrate your moment of conversion with the "but after" plot in your life story. Up to this point, you have described a life that has no purpose, hope, happiness, or other terms in the same sense. When you describe your moment of conversion, say, "but after that… this and that changed my life for the better." At this time, the tone of your testimony should change from negative to positive.
- Just like your story "before" conversion, you should be specific about the details that led to your conversion. Present a sequence of events that explains this event, the place it occurred, and the people involved. If this conversion occurred because you met your cousin Benjamin while shopping for groceries, or because at a school reunion, you just met Susi, your old friend who introduced you to the Christian life. Include this incident in your testimony as well. Don't use non-specific sentences, for example, "One day, someone related to the family took me to church."
Step 2. Focus your testimony on Jesus
Remember that your testimony should focus on how Jesus saved you. Don't explain your conversion in words that make it sound like you're saving yourself.
Basically, don't focus on how “good” you were before repenting or how “holy” your actions were after that. Read it again and ask yourself if there are things in your writing that glorify you more than you glorify God. If so, rearrange your sentences or just omit them
Step 3. Describe your current situation
In order to demonstrate the benefits of this repentance, you must explain to your readers that your living conditions have improved since repenting. Also, let me know if there are still struggles you have to deal with, but try to convey them in a positive tone.
Describe a specific change that you experienced in depth that made you thank God in your life. Also explain that your current motivation is different from your previous motivation
Method 4 of 4: Pay Attention to Other Writing Techniques
Step 1. Write a short essay
Basically, your entire life story can be a testimony in itself, but don't give too much information because your testimony may be read by people who are not Christians. Write about 500 words, add or subtract about 100 words. This number is not a standard to follow, but it's a good idea to keep it in mind as you write.
Another thing to consider is figuring out how long it will take if you or someone else reads your written testimony. The target time is 3 minutes. Writing that is too short may not be detailed enough, but writing that is too long can be very boring
Step 2. Use the term secular
More precisely, use terms that anyone can understand instead of stringing together words and phrases used only by church members. If you use religious terms, your testimony will be difficult for non-Christians to understand.
- The "religious terms" you want to use don't have to be complicated ones. On the contrary, most of the terms you want to avoid seem to have become part of everyday language after your conversion.
- Common religious terms include being born again, saved, lost, gospel, sin, repent, repent, and be punished.
- Use these terms only if you intend to provide an explanation. Often, it is best to replace the terms with their definitions. For example, instead of saying "lost," explain that your life journey is "heading in the wrong direction" or that you are "separated from God." Instead of saying "born again," use phrases that are easier to understand, such as "new spiritual life" or "renewal of spiritual life."
Step 3. Don't use idioms
This is especially important if you want your testimony to reach readers whose native language is not English. Idioms usually don't translate well or can't be understood properly if the culture is different so foreigners who read them may be confused by this term.
- Even if you know that your testimony will be read by people who speak English as their mother tongue, it's best not to use too many idioms in your writing. If you overuse idioms, many important details or information that could actually strengthen your testimony will be overlooked. Try to think about whether saying "I've been washed" will actually give you a better understanding than if you clearly described the situation of a disappointing career, a broken family, or life choices that are only selfish, or even contradictory?
- Examples of statements using idioms could take the form of phrases such as "No one wants to share" or "a hole formed by God." If you want to incorporate this phrase into your writing, try choosing words that are easier to understand, for example, "I feel like no one cares about me" or "I feel like something is incomplete in my life."
Step 4. Share from the Bible
If you want to use language that non-Christians will also appreciate, you should always refer to God in your entire salvation story. The best way to do this is to use words taken directly from the Bible as the basis of your testimony.
Use one or two verses at most, and include these if they are directly related to your experience. The word of God is a very powerful tool, but the idea is for your testimony to come from your own personal life. If you rely solely on the Bible when writing your testimony, you will not have the opportunity to speak your own words
Step 5. Let other people outside
Tell of your conversion as an experience between you and God. It's okay to mention that someone played an important role in getting you to know God better, but most importantly, don't be too specific and keep your comments short.
In particular, you may not name a particular church or religion, ask questions that give rise to a negative view of the church, Christian organization or congregation of the Christian community
Step 6. Be honest
Maybe you think that your testimony is just an ordinary, unpleasant incident and you're exaggerating to make the story more interesting. Similarly, if you feel that something is still missing in your life, you may be tempted to make the current situation seem better than it really is. But try to refrain from writing false stories, even if your motives are good. Only a completely true testimony can accurately convey the truth of faith.
Step 7. Write as if you were speaking
Try to use everyday language and don't sound like you're writing a formal speech. You need to be able to make people feel connected and understand your story as a personal experience. For that, you must be able to attract the interest of the reader from the start.
