CONTENTS

1. Writing a Three Minute Testimony Through Through Relationship with Jesus
2. How to Use a Personal Testimony
3. Testimony Work Sheet Questions
4. Three Real Life Sample Testimonies

Study Questions

Writing a Three Minute Testimony
Through Relationship With Jesus

The purpose of writing a three minute testimony is not to restrict the ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit in our lives individually, but rather to aid the ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit in our lives. If a person relied on a three minute testimony as a religion in all of his witnessing pursuits, period, this would restrict the ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

In order for our evangelism to be effective, it must be motivated out of relationship with Jesus through the ministry of the Holy Spirit; but in order for the Holy Spirit to be able to work through our lives effectively, normally He is limited by what we have and by what we know. Jesus said in the Gospel of John,

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." (John 14:26).

Jesus in this passage of Scripture teaches us that the Holy Spirit does not work in a vacuum, but leads according to the knowledge that we have that we have learned in the past through study and through past teaching of Jesus through the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Normally speaking, we would not want to restrict the length of our testimony in sharing with others but would want it to be as extensive and involved as the Holy Spirit would lead us in each individual situation. But sometimes in our sharing the message of the gospel, circumstances beyond our control may not allow for more than five minutes to share what led us to Jesus as the answer to our needs, how we received Him as Lord and Savior, and the change that Jesus has brought into our lives since that day we received Him as Savior and Lord.

On a college campus, for example, a student may be getting ready to go to his next class and only have five minutes to talk with you. When we have only five minutes to talk, what we have to share must be intelligent, concise, and to the point. To be successful in evangelism does not entail getting people to necessarily make a decision for Christ. Successful evangelism entails communicating to a person what it means to be a Christian and how to become one themselves. If you have communicated this in a way that the person understands, you have successfully evangelized them whether they make a decision at that moment or not. The reason is because even if he does not make a decision in your presence, later, when he is by himself, thinking about what you have said, and finally decides that he wants to become a Christian, he then knows what he needs to do in order to become a Christian because you have communicated to him clearly how to.

After thirty years of Evangelism, I can confirm to you this reality, because over the years people that I shared with on the field have come up to me in church years later and said to me, "Do you remember me?" Usually I respond, "No?", because, when you have shared with hundreds of people individually over several years, it is not always easy to remember every one of them individually. They will then say, "One day several years ago you shared an Evangelism Tract with me and then your own personal testimony of how you became a Christian before I had to go. I thought about this for several weeks and decided that what you shared was right and prayed and received Jesus into my life as Lord and Savior." They prayed and received Jesus into their lives because they knew how to. They knew how to because I had communicated clearly to them what it meant to be a Christian and how to become one through an Evangelism Tract and my Personal Testimony.

When you have only five minutes to effectively communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to someone, having written and memorized a three minute testimony makes this possible and even leaves room for the person to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord if he is ready at that moment to do so. If he is not ready, it leaves him knowing how to make that decision when he is ready. This is why a three minute testimony becomes an aid to the Holy Spirit and not a hindrance. The only time it becomes a hindrance is when the Holy Spirit is not presently leading you in a situation to use it; but having it makes you available to the Holy Spirit if it is needed. Not having it may leave you half way through explaining to the person what brought you to Jesus yourself; but before you can explain successfully to the person how to become a Christian, he stops you and says, "I am sorry. I am out of time. I have got to go. See you later." Of course, if he is a stranger to begin with, you may never see him again; and you have failed in your purpose, which was to explain to the person how to become a Christian. A three minute testimony will help you to avoid having this happen.

How do we approach writing a three minute testimony? In the second part of this Chapter is an outline entitled, How to Use a Personal Testimony, which suggests many things that need to be considered in writing a three minute testimony. First, read this outline. Second, read the Three Real-Life Sample Testimonies. Third, go to Jesus through worship and praise and in Spirit and truth, in light of this knowledge, and ask Him to free you from your own ideas and your own strife concerning how best to write your three minute testimony. Next, wait upon Him through worship and praise to show you and break your heart with the things that are breaking His heart about man in how He wants you to write your testimony. You do not want to write your testimony like everybody else's. You want to write your testimony the way Jesus wants you to write it. This is because Jesus wants to use your unique experiences with Him to reach individuals who can best relate to your testimony, not somebody else's. Jesus has a unique plan and purpose for you in reaching others with His message, so let Jesus guide you specifically in every aspect of your testimony.

It is really important that you do not start writing your personal three minute testimony until you are sure you have received from Jesus how He wants you to write it. This is because Jesus said, it is the Spirit who creates-life; the flesh profits nothing. (John 6:63). You want your testimony to communicate the life and love of Jesus, and this cannot be accomplished unless your three minute testimony was originally inspired by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Whatever Jesus inspires through the Holy Spirit will have spiritual-life in it and communicate Jesus' life and love to the individuals you will be sharing with in such a way that when they leave, they will be thinking about how Jesus changed your life through your receiving Him and not how fantastic your testimony is. We want to communicate Jesus to them, not ourselves. A three minute testimony inspired by Jesus through the Holy Spirit will make this possible.

Once you have successfully put together your first rough draft copy of your testimony, give it to your group leader so that he can go over it for you and make suggestions to you for ways you can improve it, then go home and make necessary improvements. Next, take your second rough draft copy back to your group leader and have him go over it again. If he makes more suggestions for improvement, make those improvements, type up your final draft and show it to him again. If he does not make any more suggestions, but says it is alright, then memorize it. You will then be equipped with a three minute testimony that will effectively communicate your faith to others in a way that will leave them knowing clearly what it means to be a Christian and how to become one themselves.

If you are doing this school of evangelism on your own, find a Campus Crusade for Christ representative in your local area and follow the same procedures above.

Any subject matter can be presented more effectively by careful organization. A carefully prepared testimony, given in the power of the Holy Spirit, can be of immediate and effective use in nearly every witnessing situation. It should be our desire to present Christ in such a clear and attractive, yet simple way that those who hear will not only want to know Him, but they will also know how to know Him personally.

A carefully and intelligently worded three-minute testimony will communicate far more effectively than a prolonged one that includes a lot of extraneous material which will distract from, rather than emphasize, the point of personal commitment to Christ and what this can mean in a person's life.

1. Remember, the same Christ lives in you whether you trusted Him early or later in life. Do not be concerned that your testimony be exciting, just that it be interesting.

2. Be realistic. Do not infer that Christ eliminates all the problems of life, but rather that he enables you to live them out with peace and confidence. "I am with you always."

3. Be positive, not negative, from start to finish.

4. Prepare your testimony so that you can share it in a group situation as well as with an individual.

5. Avoid the following when writing your testimony:
   

1. Including statements which reflect negatively on the church and other organizations or people.

2. Mentioning denominations, especially in a derogatory way.

3. Preaching at people. This is a testimony, not a preachimony.

4. Using stereotypes. People who work together for a period of time on a team tend unwittingly to copy one another.

5. Speaking in generalities or using overworked terms such as:

1. Straight-laced, sober, and sad.

2. Fantastic, exciting, and great.

3. Peace, purpose, and happiness.

4. Changed (without giving specific changes).
   

6. Using words that are meaningless to non-Christians. Terms like salvation, saved, born again, and conversion, need to be defined if used. Terms like glorious, and Hallelujah, are so ridiculed in some areas that you would do well not to use them at all.

6. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom and guidance as you write (James 1:5-6).

7. Follow a three-point outline: My Life With Jesus (See Testimony Work Sheet on the next page).
   

1. Life before knowing Christ.

2. How you came to know Jesus (be specific).

3. Life after you received Christ (changes He has made, what He means to you now).

8. Emphasize point 3B above if you became a Christian as a small child.

9. Begin with an interesting, attention-getting sentence and close with a good conclusion. Include relevant, thought-provoking, personal experiences.

10. Write in such a way that others will feel associated with you in past and present experiences.

11. Give enough details to arouse interest.

12. Use at least one, but at the most two Scripture verses.

13. Edit carefully and rewrite as necessary before final draft.

14. See examples of Three Real Life Sample Testimonies given in this chapter.

15. Choose something characteristic of your experience that is of general interest to non-Christians. Build your own testimony around a theme. Examples: Personal success (Your own past view-point and now from God's viewpoint), life's goals (past and present view point), God's personal plan for you.

16. Emphasize the fact that the thing that made the difference in your life was accepting Christ as Savior and making Him Lord and Master of your life. Keep in mind that your testimony should give enough details so that someone else would know how to trust the Lord after hearing it. Tell how He entered your life.
    

    1. Avoid being long-winded, and using unnecessary words. (Adhere strictly to the time schedule). 

    2. Above all, obey the Holy Spirit's leading in your life concerning preparation of your testimony. Understand that the comments just made are based on the experience of hundreds of past testimonies and are in no way met to be a restriction on the Holy Spirit's direct leading in your life. This is here simply to help you more clearly determine Jesus' leading through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads us by what we know, He does not work in a vacuum.

1. Memorize your testimony and practice it until it becomes natural.

2. Share your testimony with loving enthusiasm in the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:3-5).

3. Smile often! Ask the Lord to give you a happy, radiant countenance. Use a natural speaking voice.

4. Avoid exhibiting nervous habits (especially with your hands) and other mannerisms, such as rubbing your nose, jingling coins in your pocket, swaying, clearing your throat, and using uh's and ah's. Exhibit good posture. Do not talk on the way to or from your seat.

5. Avoid arguing and using other high pressure methods to obtain a decision for Christ. Remember, men are born of the Spirit, not through persuasiveness or logic of men, though God may use both.

3. Now write your testimony following the outline below:
   

Testimony Work Sheet

1. Before I received Christ I lived and thought this way?
2. How I received Christ?
3. After I received Christ these changes took place?
4. Pertinent or favorite verse by which I might close?

Or Print this PDF Testimony Work Sheet and work off of it.

Next:

4. Three Real Life Sample Testimonies