Writing Your Personal Story (Testimony)
Your story has three parts:
- Your life before you met Christ
- How you met Christ
- How Christ changed your life
Write your story in 300 words or less.
This will allow you to tell your story in three minutes or less.
Your life before you met Christ
Answering these questions will help you reflect on your life before Christ:
- Were your parents devoted followers of Jesus?
- Did you grow up regularly attending church?
- How would you describe your family’s spiritual life?
- What did you struggle with?
- How did you feel?
- What were you looking for?
- How old were you when you became a follower of Jesus?
- What was your life like before you committed your life to Jesus?
- What word best describes your life before Christ?
- Was there a major event that shaped your view of God?
- Was your life before Christ impacted by a specific struggle, event, or person? If so, how did it impact you?
- In what ways did you find life unsatisfying?
How you met Christ
Answering these questions will help you reflect on how you met Christ:
- When did you first hear the gospel?
- How were you exposed to a dynamic, life-changing relationship with Jesus?
- When did you seriously consider following Jesus?
- What was the turning point?
- How did you receive Christ? What were the details of that experience?
- Was there a specific Bible verse that was important in your experience?
How Christ changed your life
Answering these questions will help you reflect on how Jesus has changed your life and what He means to you now that you are following Him:
- How is your life different since you committed your life to Jesus?
- What changes did you see in your life? Your story will flow smoothly if these changes parallel the problems or needs you expressed in the first part of your story.
- What have you left behind or stopped doing?
- How has Jesus dealt with your struggles?
- What has been added to your life?
- How is your life better?
- What changes have other people seen in you?
- How do you feel now? Why do you feel that way?
- What does Jesus mean to you now?
Points to keep in mind:
- The three parts of your story do not have to be the same length.
- If you became a follower of Jesus at a young age, the part about your life before Christ might be shorter than the other two parts.
- Your story is powerful, even if you have not had a traumatic experience in your past.
- Be specific in writing your story. Don’t use broad, general terms.
- Avoid religious and “churchy” words that may have negative connotations or may not be clearly understood by people who have no background in the Bible or church.
- Be personal in writing your testimony. Don’t be preachy.
- Pray before you write anything. Ask God to help you.
- Your first draft will not be a finished product. You will rewrite it several times this month to make it concise and effective.
- Write it like you would speak it. Don’t write it like a research paper.
- Say it out loud to see how it sounds, then make changes.
What not to do:
- Do not make statements that reflect negatively on churches, organizations, or people.
- Avoid mentioning denominations or churches by name.
- Avoid sounding in a preaching manner.
- Do not use vague terms as “joyful,” “peace,” “happy,” “changed,” without explaining them.
- Avoid using Biblical or religious words such as “saved,” “converted,” “convicted,” without clarifying what you mean.