Your most valuable testimony (for others) isn’t your conversion story

I’ve been through a number of witnessing and evangelism courses/classes that taught the importance of having a “personal testimony.” Some of them taught a formula—e.g., B.C. (before Christ) + Conversion + A.C. (After Christ)—that I should follow. It was to be written out and practiced so I could give it on a moment’s notice without any hesitation or doubt.

I don’t think this is necessarily bad. But I also think it isn’t enough. It’s a good starting point but it shouldn’t stay there.

I’ve also heard many testimonies over the years. Many of them are of the dramatic kind—I was a terrible person, my life sank to the lowest circle of hell, then I encountered Jesus and he rescued me. Now my life is completely different.

(If you are a new Christian, the rest doesn’t yet apply. But read on to keep your eyes open for developing stories in your life.)

Again, not necessarily a bad thing. But when this is the only story that gets told over and over, and when this experience happened decades ago, the audience begins to wonder, so what has God been up to in your life since then? It also adds to the idea that public testimonies are supposed to be of the dramatic kind. It stigmatizes Christians who never have had such a dramatic experience. And finally the way these testimonies are told, it often glamorizes (whether the speaker intends to or not) the life B.C. It subconsciously creates the desire to have a dramatic life B.C. just to have a grand testimony.

Christians were saved. We are being saved. And we will be saved in the future. This is the paradox of salvation. We are made right and holy when we first come to Christ. Yet we are still being made right and holy. And the fullness of righteousness and holiness await in the future.

I believe the most important testimony that others want to hear is: what has God been doing since your conversion? What has God been doing in the last couple of years? What is God going right now? What struggles, trials, doubts, and failures have you experienced recently that God has brought you through and out of?

You can begin your story with your B.C. + Conversion + A.C. – especially if you’re speaking with someone who has never heard that part of your story. But don’t stay there. Make the main part of your testimony about your recent and current life. Yes, it means you have to be more vulnerable. You have to risk giving a part of your heart and emotions to someone, someone who could betray you. But I believe doing this will speak more strongly than merely a story from the distant past.

It’s valuable to know that God can save people from the deepest pits of despair. But I believe it is more important for people to know that God is walking among us in our common, everyday lives.