How to give your testimony in the services

 

1.    Write out your testimony.  It will surprise you how easy it is to get sidetracked by all the commotion and    
        translating.

2.    Keep it brief, maybe about 3 minutes!  With translation 3 minutes will turn into 5!

3.    Open with a greeting in Spanish.  The folks like it when you try to speak their language and show a genuine interest
        in them.

4.    Tell who you are and a little bit about you, married, work, something about your family, etc.

5.    Add a couple of positive statements about the country, the church, and the people!

6.    Do not talk about the poverty of the area, the currency as funny money, how sorry you feel for them, etc.

7.    Tell what Christ has done for you, how did you get saved, how did you realize your need of a Savior, how has
        your life changed, how has Christ helped you lately.

8.    Give a verse and make sure and give the application.

9.    Do not give graphic details about your sin or your past life.

10.    Avoid slang and idioms in your testimony.  They can be very difficult to translate and may have no meaning in the
        other language.

11.    Do not use very long sentences or very short either.  Give a good thought that can be easily remembered by the
        translator!

12.    Avoid stressing your material success or blessings and especially making any comparisons to what the people
        have in the country you are visiting!

13.    Avoid speaking of the sacrifice that you made to get to the field.  Remember what it cost you to get to the country
        may be several months of a working man's income.  You may share with them the blessing of being able to come  
        and how good God was to answer your prayers and make it possible to be there!

14.    Don't tell jokes, etc. without prior approval to make sure that they translate, etc.

15.    Thank the folks again and ask them to pray for you.  Be excited about the country and the opportunity to be there.