Some Do's and Don'ts for Writing Your Testimony

1. DON'T be limited to writing just your salvation testimony.

• Inventory the rough moments of your life—the times when you were most aware of God's presence and enabling. Keep a journal.

• Write to encourage others—to give them something to take away and apply to their own lives (2 Cor 1:3-7; 1 Thess 5:11).

• Avoid testimonies about things not all that significant (Wayne Caldwell, The Wesleyan Advocate).

• Realize that just because you've experienced it doesn't mean it will interest others. Watch for your blind spots and be careful not to bore your readers.

2. DO make your message clear and direct, your focus sharp. You should be able to state in ONE sentence what you hope to communicate to your reader (Col 1:28; 1 Cor 1:23).

3. DO be in touch with people and their needs, not preoccupied with yourself (Phil 2:4). Make your writing relevant and timely.

4. DO point your readers to Christ, not to yourself (1 Cor 2:4-5).

5. DO write with conviction and enthusiasm (Rom 1:16).

6. DO let your words be gracious as well as sensible (Col 4:6).

7. DO back up your experience with Scripture (or scriptural principles). DON'T proof text, quote inaccurately or quote excessively (2 Tim 2:15b).

8. DON'T preach! Let the Holy Spirit do the convicting (John 16:8).

9. DO write with love and with sensitivity. (Click here to read an article on the importance of sensitivity.)  Avoid pat and simplistic answers, but DON'T water down the power of the Gospel. Gently lead your reader to the Answer (Eph 4:32).

10. DO be honest, open, vulnerable. Take off your mask. Be real. Let the reader see your struggle (Rom 7:15-21; 1 Tim 1:15-16).

11. DON'T write it too soon. Wait for objectivity and perspective (Gal. 1:16-18). Live it first but DON'T let the enemy silence your witness because you're not perfect (Phil 3:12).

12. DON'T try to cover too long a time frame. Avoid unnecessary tangents or characters. Share the right amount of your life before Christ—not too much, not too little (1 Tim 11:15-16).

13. DO be led by the Holy Spirit and trust Him to give you the right words (1 Cor 1:7) and to strengthen you in your weakness (2 Cor 12:9-10).

14. DO keep rewriting until it's your very best work (2 Tim 2:15a), and DO keep submitting it until you find a home for it (Gal 6:9).

15. DON'T be surprised or defeated by ridicule and persecution (1 Peter 5:8-11).

16. DO, as much as possible, share your testimony in story form. Show don't tell. Use dialogue and scenes. Use the 4 C's - character, conflict, crisis, change

What a wonderful God we have—he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us. You can be sure that the more we undergo sufferings for Christ, the more he will shower us with his comfort and encouragement. We are in deep trouble for bringing you God's comfort and salvation. But in our trouble God has comforted us—and this, too to help you: to show you from our personal experience how God will tenderly comfort you when you undergo these same sufferings . . . .                              2 Corinthians l:3-7 tlb

See also:

• Sensitivity

• Rising Above Fear

• Hope & Comfort

• Newspaper fax numbers

• Sample Letter to the Editor
  
  You may also want to order my tape album, Writing from Personal Experience - two tapes with over two hours of how-to's and Bible study. $11.00