Is the personal testimony alone enough for evangelism? (Part II)

by Dan Rieke

How can a testimony be used effectively?

1.       It is centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Look at Paul’s testimony in Acts 22. He begins by giving a brief background on his life and then he moves the focus to Jesus and keeps it there. Paul’s story is really Jesus’ story. And so is yours.

2.       It is relevant to the hearer.

A long-winded story about how you grew up in a loving Christian home and yet never really trusted in God until years later told to a man who grew up in a rough home without access to the gospel is not going to resonate with him. He can’t relate to your story. It’s not that your testimony isn’t a “good testimony;” it’s that it just doesn’t make sense in his world. However, the gospel is relevant to every living human being on the planet, regardless of their background, because “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”

3.       It is evidence of God’s power to transform.

People love to see transformation. We have TV shows transforming tiny houses into mansions, nerds into models, and coffee shop singers into Grammy winners. The gospel has the ability to transform not just the external, but everything about a person: chains of addiction removed, affections and desires altered, lifestyles radically reshaped, and despair replaced by joy. A personal testimony that demonstrates God’s power to change can provide hope to the hearer that transformation is possible. However, the testimony should never lose Jesus as its central focus or it could open the door to viewing God as a means to an end rather than as the ultimate prize.

Come back tomorrow for the last installment of this three part series which focuses on the question: How can a testimony be used incorrectly?

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