Have you ever been asked to share a testimony in front of a crowd about something the Lord taught you? Public speaking gives most the jitters but here are some tips to sharing a testimony that will really reach the hearts of those you are speaking to!
1. Share a specific instance, not just a general occurrence
- It's easy to say "I find it hard to understand my Mom when she doesn't let me go out with my friends..." That's great, but we want to hear about a time that actually happened. Use words like "one time when...".
- Include details that might be personal and descriptive. But do use discretion about sharing things that are someone else's secret or make someone else look bad.
2. Share something that happened recently
- Sharing about something that happened when you were five isn't necessarily wrong but can send the message that you only did bad stuff when you were that age and not any more (which obviously isn't true!)
- You'll probably remember more details about something that happened recently
- Sharing something that happened recently really gives others a glimpse into your life and helps them see that you are a work in progress too!
- Share something that matters to you (not the smallest thing I've done wrong in this area cause I don't want others to think badly of me). Hopefully this is a mistake you made that you want to tell others about so that they don't do it themselves!
- A testimony is not just a story, it is YOUR story! Let us know how you felt, why you struggled, why you were tempted, what made it so difficult to do what was right.
- Take time to really recall what went through your mind at that time
4. Leave out unimportant information
- I don't know about you, but some of my testimonies are complicated, long stories. A lot of what makes the testimony complicating is that much of what happened is not relevant to the testimony and can be edited out. For example, we don't need to know the exact date this happened, we don't need to know the whole events of the day which this happened and sometimes we don't even need to know exactly who the person who wronged you in the story was.
- It is important to think about the order in which you are going to share your testimony. When should you give different pieces of important information? Will withholding some information till later in the testimony encourage curiosity?
Most importantly, share from your heart. Even though in some sense you are going to be doing public speaking, this is NOT public speaking in the sense that this is NOT just a speech that you are giving. Jesus told the man He cast demons out of...
Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. - Mark 5:19
Do you think that the man wrote out a speech about what the Lord had done and read it in a monotone to his friends? NO! I imagine him giving a heart-felt speech, choking up as he recalled all that the Lord had done for him.
Dear Reader, you can write out the most perfect testimony that meets all the points above and if it does not mean something to you, everyone can tell! As the saying goes, "a message prepared in the mind reaches a mind; a message prepared in a life reaches a life"
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