At Flat Run Church, we encourage people to write out and read their Christian testimony before they are baptized. A Christian testimony is your description of God’s work in your life as you recount how you became a Christian. This accomplishes two things. First, it allows you to put into words how you became a Christian on the basis of the Gospel. Understanding this and describing the work of God in your life can be an effective tool in sharing Christ with others for the rest of your life. Second, our church wants to hear how you became a Christian. As you are baptized, you are professing your faith in Jesus. Rest assured it will be of utmost encouragement to them.

Building Your Testimony 

So, what exactly are you to say? Is there anything you should not say? We want to help you articulate what God has done in your life in bringing you to himself for salvation. Note the following important points: 

First, record God’s work in your life. He is the one you should be giving glory to in your story. While your personal testimony is personal and will certainly involve you, you cannot be the hero of the story. No more than someone who was drowning can be the hero if someone else saved them from their plight. Exalt God and trace His work through your conversion experience. 

Romans 8:29-30 reminds us that it is God who does the work of salvation for us and in us. This passage tells us that God has orchestrated the details of your life to save you from your sins. So let us make sure he is the hero of your testimony. 

Second, intertwine the gospel into your story. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Paul summarizes the gospel as “3 … that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” The gospel is we are sinners rightly deserving the wrath of God on our sins. Yet, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to die on the cross to pay the debt we deserved for our sins. We must turn from our sins and trust in Jesus with our hearts to be saved from sin. 

If this is the message of the gospel that saves us from our sin, we must make it clear through our salvation testimony. You may say things like “I was in my sin” or “God convicted me of my sin” or “Jesus saved me from my sin” or “I believed Jesus died for my sins” etc. This is a helpful way for you to describe how the Bible explains the gospel and how you received His saving work. 

Third, describe the events surrounding your conversion experience and how becoming a Christian is affecting your life now. Try to avoid emotionalism here and unnecessary details. It is interesting to me that when Paul gives his testimony of conversion in Acts 26, he leaves out many details included in the actual record of his conversion in Acts 9. He does not record that he went blind or that 3 days later he got baptized and began preaching. Rather, he emphasizes what Christ was doing in him. Remember, it is God’s grace that brought you here. 

It may even be helpful to include a story in the Bible that coincides with your testimony. A child becoming a Christian might refer to Timothy and his mother and grandmother teaching him God’s Word from 2 Timothy 1:5, 3:15. If you were saved from a life of deep sin, you may include the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. If you were religious or devoted to your career, you could speak of Lydia in Acts 16:14. 

The Actual Sharing of Your Testimony

I would encourage you to read Acts 26 before writing your testimony so you can see how the Apostle Paul described his own conversion experience and testimony. As you read this text, you see that he describes his life before Christ in verses 5 through 11. He states he was a very religious man and sought to persecute the church. In verses 12 through 18, he explains when he became a Christian. Notice the emphasis is on Jesus, not Paul, in those verses. Then in verses 19 through 23, we see Paul’s life after he became a Christian. 

An Example of a Christian Testimony

I will describe here how I became a Christian. I will try to weave in all the elements mentioned above in a short concise fashion. When you describe your testimony, you really do not want to be longer than 3 or 4 minutes. Here is my story. I will split it up into paragraphs in the structure of the three-fold application I described-  my life before Christ, receiving Christ, and my life since I have come to Christ. 

I grew up in a Christian home where my mom and dad loved Jesus and took me to church every Sunday. Before I was 5 years old, they had taught me 20 Bible verses that were committed to memory. Although I knew a lot about the Bible and I knew the story of the gospel, I did not become a Christian until I was 19 years old. In my teenage years, I rebelled and like the prodigal son, I gave myself over to the things of the world and lived in sin. 

By God’s grace, through a series of circumstances over about a 6-month period, God began convicting me of my sin and brought me to the end of myself. I do not know exactly the time or moment I became a Christian. To be honest, I did not understand all that God was doing during that time. But as I look back, I realized it was during that period of time Christ became the Lord of my life and saved me from my sin. 

Since I have become a Christian and believed in Jesus, my life has never been the same. God gave me a hunger to know His Word and to tell others about him. God has given me victory over sin and a desire to serve Him. Really, I would not know how to define my life or think of my life without Jesus at this point. I praise God for His saving work in my life. 

Conclusion

If you need help or have questions on how to further share and write your testimony, I would be delighted to help you. There are helpful YouTube videos I can direct you to or I can help you put it together. Once you write out your conversion experience, please send it to me so that I can help give feedback on it. I can assure you, the older you get and the longer you walk with Christ, the more precise your understanding will be on what happened when you believed in Christ for his salvation. 

Soli Deo Gloria