Every Christian has a testimony. Put simply, it’s your eyewitness account of how God rescued you from your sin and made you His own. That story — regardless of how “spectacular” or “ordinary” you think it is — is a story about God’s grace and His power to save.

On the one hand, every testimony is the same. We were all sinners doomed for hell who were drawn to faith in Jesus by the grace of God. But on the other hand, every testimony is different since the events and circumstances leading to your conversion are as unique as every one of us. Since every testimony is unique, we believe it’s good for every Christian to learn to share their testimony. And a simple way to do that is by learning to write it down.

Although I love hearing full stories with all their beautiful twists in turns, it’s usually good for your written testimony to be brief. I generally recommend three short paragraphs. For a wonderful example of this, consider the Apostle Paul.  In Acts 26, Paul stood before King Agrippa and shared simply and plainly the story of his life.  Paul’s testimony includes three main ingredients that can help you prepare your testimony:  

1.    My Life Before a Personal Relationship with Jesus (Acts 26:4-11)

  • What was your life like?  What characterized you?  How did you think of God?  What were you thoughts about religion?
  • Even if you were a relatively “good” person, how was the Lord justly angered toward you because of your sin during this time?   

 

2.    My Conversion Experience (Acts 26:12-20)

  • Explain what drove you to consider Christ, whether it was the circumstances or time.
  • Share the specific steps of how you became a Christian.  If there was a Scripture passage or word that someone said that drew you to Christ, share it here.
  • Explain the gospel clearly:
    • You were sinful and fully deserving of God’s wrath
    • Christ died in your place on the cross as your substitute—bearing the wrath of God in your place
    • When you repented of your sin, turned from your old lifestyle and placed your faith in Christ’s sacrifice, then you were forgiven of all sin, becoming a child of God and obtaining new life in Him.   

3. My New Life with Jesus (Acts 26:21-23)

  • There's forgiveness in the gospel of Jesus Christ, but there’s also power!  What difference has Christ made in your life?  In the way you think, feel, and act?  In the way coworkers see you?  In the way your family sees you?  In the way you view your coworkers or family members?
  • Don’t be afraid to share honestly that you still have struggles, but be sure to share how Christ helps you with these struggles.

Again, you don’t have to go into your whole life story when you do this. Usually each paragraph can be no longer than 4-5 sentences (just 12 sentences potentially... easy!) Feel free to include little personal details (i.e. where you grew up, what you studied in school, who has been instrumental in your walk with the Lord etc…) in your testimony. These things only take a word or a phrase, but help hearers to connect with your testimony.

I hope these tips help you write out a clear testimony of conversion. But more importantly is that you actually share that story with others. Remember, the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:16, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. May we not be ashamed of the way that God saved each one of us who believes.