The Power of Testimony

Words are powerful. What we say and how we say it matters, especially when talking about Jesus and following him.

Research by Amanda Drury (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary; Professor Indiana Wesleyan University) shows that in adolescent faith formation, saying does in fact lead to believing. Talking about one's own spiritual experiences does more than just describe reality. It also constructs identity while spiritually forming the speaker.

According to Drury:

Articulating where we understand God to be present, along with how God interweaves his presence with our own spiritual narrative, affects and strengthens the knowledge we have, thereby aiding participation with the divine nature. [...] When an individual is able to articulate where and how he understands God to be present in his life, this articulation can serve as a kind of legitimating apparatus, and one's description of God's presence in the past may help bolster one's present faith [...] While human language does not make God's converting work a reality, human language may help an adolescent recognize where God is present and lay claim to it in her life, thereby enriching her faith. When she is able to recognize how God may have worked within her narrative and is able to articulate this occurrence, she is engaging in a theological practice that develops and deepens authentic Christian faith. (Saying is Believing: The Necessity of Testimony in Adolescent Spiritual Development, IVP, 2015)

Unfortunately, speaking articulately about personal faith experiences is a rare skill in both adolescents and adults. Unless students hear this type of speaking from others, they're not likely to engage in it themselves. So leaders and mentors must model this type of powerful and transforming testimony.

Speaking articulately about one's faith experiences isn't a bonus skill. Instead, it's an essential practice for one's ongoing life of discipleship. As Drury writes:

An inability to speak of one's faith makes the plausibility of maintaining this faith tenuous.

Many people are OK with answering "how I saw God at work today" because they're willing to look outside themselves to identify God doing something, somewhere, in someone else's life. That doesn't require vulnerability or self-reflection. ​

And some people can articulate things they've heard or read about God. They can share information they've received and learned.

But not many people can clearly and specifically articulate how God has worked and is working in their lives.

The good news is that we can all learn how to articulate our faith and to share our testimony, not primarily in an extended upfront context but in a shortened conversational context.

In just a few sentences, it is possible to articulate specific ways that God is present and active in our lives, often in ways that we never realized until we say it. Speaking these things aloud firms up soft realities, brings awareness to things often overlooked, and confirms that God is indeed working in our lives in both big and small ways.​ ​

Tiny testimonies are not:

• verbalized cardboard testimonies, which tend to be single big-picture generalized statements. TTs go deeper to include the why and how of God's presence and work in our lives.
• standard testimonies (or faith stories) that begin with childhood, talk about life before Jesus, meeting Jesus, and life with Jesus now. TTs are more focused, centered on one specific event, identity lie, or struggle.

Use these templates and samples​ to start learning and practicing the power of tiny testimonies.

Listen to Amanda Drury define testimony in the video below, and listen to a more in-depth 15-minute interview with Amanda here.