101 Ways for Sunday School to Be Evangelistic, Part 9 Testimonies

The number one fear in the United States is the fear of public speaking. So how do you lead your class to share their testimony? How do you help attenders overcome that fear and move them to talk to unenrolled and lost people? What if preparation and motivation could happen during Sunday School?

Over the last couple of months, we have shown that Sunday School can be more inviting and evangelistic through prayer (Part 1), relationships (Part 2), fellowships (Part 3), greeting (Part 4), teaching (Part 5), application (Part 6), follow up (Part 7), and contacts (Part 8). In addition to these eighty ways, in Part 9 we will look at ten ways Sunday School can also be evangelistic through testimonies.

1. EXPLAIN. Share with your class what you plan to do. Explain that you will be helping them to prepare and practice sharing their testimonies over the next few months. (Don’t ask for a vote.) Help them to understand why it is important. Ask them to join you in praying for what God will do. Over time explain the differences between a Sunday School and salvation testimony (see below). Help them understand the goal.
2. SUNDAY SCHOOL. A salvation testimony is simply a story of how God has used Sunday School in your life. It can tell about how much you have learned more about the Bible. It can tell how your best friends are in Sunday School. It can tell about how the class came to your help in time of need and more. I have written a lot about Sunday School testimonies. Check out Sunday School Testimony: Powerful Revolutionary Tooland Grow Sunday School by Sharing Your Sunday School Testimony. It should be able to be told in 2-3 minutes. I suggest helping the class start with the Sunday School testimony before moving to the salvation testimony.
3. SALVATION. A salvation testimony is a story of (1) what life was like before you accepted Jesus, (2) how you discovered your need for Him, and (3) what life is like now with Him. The salvation testimony will often benefit from scripture woven into the second part. Again, it should be able to be shared in 2-3 minutes.
4. WRITE OUT. One of the first ways to prepare either of these testimonies is to ask members to write it out. Do one of these testimonies at a time. Give them a week to work on it at home. And/o r allow a few minutes in class. Collect the written testimonies, and offer written suggestions about details that should be added or cut in order to make the testimonies more effective. (If you need help, ask your pastor or a deacon.) It is often best to div i de this process into small steps. Avoid asking them to practice in the same session in which they have written out their testimonies. Return their testimonies and ask them to revise them. Give them a fresh piece of paper. Give them a week or do so in class.
5. PRACTICE. Get the class into pairs to allow each person to verbally share his/her testimony. Doing so in pairs removes the fear of public speaking, and it shortens the time needed for everyone to share. Encourage the listener to use good listening skills and to avoid interrupting. Give only three to four minutes and then switch. This helps the person sharing to know he/she has to keep the testimony short. Do this in class several times over the next few weeks. Allow them to use the written testimony at first, but move them toward sharing without.
6. SHARE. Make a point after each practice session to ask the group to tell you who had t he best testimony. Try to get the group to name two or three people. Then ask for a volunteer among those two or three who would be willing to share with the whole class. When you hear a really good one, make sure to talk to the pastor about it. Encourage him to approach the individual about sharing the testimony from the pulpit.
7. CHALLENGE. Then challenge the class to share their testimony. Give them a deadline, perhaps two weeks to share it with (1) another Christian as practice and (2) with someone who is lost or unenrolled. Tell them when the report time will be. Call or send out reminders by email or mail. The teacher and class leaders can greatly encourage the class by sharing in the middle of the two weeks about what happened when they shared their testimony.
8. PRAY. Before sending them out, gather the class to pray. Ask them to pray for God to use the practice. Ask God to open opportunities. Ask God to give them courage, discernment, and words. Ask God to use them. Ask God for big results that show He is God.
9. GO. Then send them out. Tell them they can go share in pairs or alone. But give them some ideas to help them see opportunities. Help them think about times when they might share with friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors. Talk about work, school, play, and marketplace opportunities. Help them to identify and focus on one or two of these, but challenge them to be sensitive to opportunities provided by the Holy Spirit.
10. REPORT. Set a time for everyone to report what happened. Allow enough time for this to take place. You might even decide you want to do this at another time than Sunday morning so everyone can share. If you report on Sunday morning, you might limit each person to one or two minutes. Make sure you give God the glory He deserves in the process. If you started with the Sunday School testimony, then do the process all over again with a new focus on the salvation testimony.

What would you add to these ideas for preparing and motivating attenders to share their testimonies? Help them prepare this week! Choose one or two and of the ideas above to implement in your class this week! In Part 10, we will turn to ways ministry and outreach projects and lead a class to be more evangelistic.