Preparing your testimony: before, the encounter, after
One day, someone will ask you how you came to believe. If you have never thought about it, you may stammer or go off in all directions. This quest invites you to prepare your testimony ahead of time, the story of your encounter with Christ, in three stages: your life before, the encounter, what has changed since.
What it looks like in your day
Take a piece of paper. Write three sentences, one for each stage.
Before. What was your life like, what were you looking for, what was missing? Stay concrete. “I was very successful at work, but I felt empty in the evenings.” “I had grown up in a believing family, but my faith was my parents', not mine.”
The encounter. What happened? A person, an event, a book, a prayer, a moment when everything shifted? “At twenty-six, a friend invited me to a group, and I felt that I was expected there.” If you can't date your encounter precisely (this is true for many people), describe the path: the stages, the people, the signs.
After. What has changed? A peace, a forgiveness received, a direction, a way of loving. “I'm not perfect, but I no longer carry alone what I used to carry.”
Reread your version, then simplify: remove the church vocabulary, the unnecessary place names, the details that distract. End with a simple sentence: “So that's what happened to me.”
If you grew up in the faith, your testimony is more of a maturing than a shock. It counts just as much: explain the moment when your faith became your own. If you are short on time, write only the three sentences. If you are shy, read them over quietly to yourself.
What the Bible says
The apostle Paul, before King Agrippa, tells his story following exactly this thread. He describes his earlier life (Acts 26:4-11), then the encounter on the road to Damascus:
“Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”
He finishes by telling about the mission he received, and what he has done since (Acts 26:19-23). Notice how he speaks: with facts (the light, the voice, the place), not abstractions. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus also asks a healed man to tell what God has done for him (Mark 5:19): telling is part of the response to grace. The book of Revelation speaks of overcoming “by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11).
Pitfalls to avoid
Looking for the spectacular. Many people think their story is too ordinary. But people often see themselves more in an ordinary story than in an extraordinary one.
Turning your testimony into a doctrine lecture. It tells what you have lived, not what everyone should believe. Keep a personal tone.
Mixing everything up. One thread, three sentences. The other stories of your life will have their place elsewhere: what God did at other moments deserves telling too.
Dramatizing or tidying up. Stay honest, including about what is still hard.
Keeping the text to yourself. A testimony that is prepared but never told is of no use. Read it to a believing friend, then to someone you trust.
Today, write three sentences: before, the encounter, after. Read them aloud.