Your Story is Worth Sharing

So you have a boring testimony.


Good.

Now share it.

I grew up in a Christian family, went to church every week, and attended a Christian school from pre-K through 12th grade. I’ve never suffered from substance abuse, never committed a major crime, never joined a violent gang—I don’t have the kind of testimony you’d hear at a Christian youth conference.

Needless to say, I never thought my testimony was worth sharing.

A lot of times, we view our testimonies as simply the moments we came to know Christ, but I've been a Christian since before I can remember. Does that mean my testimony ends when I was a little kid asking Jesus into my heart? Is that the only story I can offer?

I think we, as a Christian community,  prevent a lot of people from sharing their stories because we act like testimonies and conversion stories are synonymous.

To convert something is to change it, so a religious conversion is basically a change of religion. For a Christian, your conversion story tells of how you first came to know Christ. My conversion story would be this: “I became a Christian when I was a little kid.” That’s it. That’s my whole conversion story. It’s pretty shallow, just like my faith was when I was five years old.

What if shows ended right after the opening credits?

Thankfully, though, my testimony is so much more than my conversion story. My testimony is the story of what God has done in my life and what He continues to do in my life. It is constantly evolving, just like my relationship with Jesus.


                    My testimony can’t end 
                           with my conversion story.


The Apostle Paul owns perhaps the most famous conversion story. You all know the deal—he used to be called Saul and was well-known for his persecution of Christians. In Galatians 1:13, he writes,

    “For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.”

For the full story of his conversion, read Acts 9, but here is a brief recount:

As Saul traveled to Damascus to hunt down Christians to throw into jail, he was blinded by a bright light. He heard Jesus’ voice call out from heaven, saying, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

When Saul got up from the ground, he opened his eyes but couldn’t see anything, so his friends had to lead him by hand the rest of the way. After Saul was in Damascus for three days, a disciple named Ananias visited him. When he placed his hands over Saul’s eyes, scales fell off, and Saul could see again. He got up and was immediately baptized. (And his name was later changed to Paul).


Paul's conversion story is just a little bit more exciting than mine. If his story ended right there at his baptism, it would be so inspirational that he’d be able to write a best-selling memoir, speak at Christian conferences, and be portrayed by Kirk Cameron in a low-budget film. I mean, he was literally blinded by God’s love. It doesn’t get much more intense than that.

Mike Seaver looked a lot like a young Apostle Paul.

But, thankfully, Paul’s story didn’t end there.

He went from someone who persecuted Christians to “God’s chosen instrument” to spread Christianity. After his conversion, he traveled the world preaching the Gospel despite intense opposition. His fantastic conversion story was just the beginning of an even greater testimony. (Check out Paul’s personal account in 2 Corinthians 11.)

Paul’s testimony didn’t end when he became a Christian, and neither should ours. Our testimonies need to be more than just conversion stories.

After my freshman year of college, I heard a “boring” testimony I will never forget. I was working at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp, and the chapel speaker that week was a former professional lacrosse player named Dan. Dan was like me: he grew up in a Christian home and had considered himself a Christian for as long as he could remember. He wasn't perfect by any means—he went through times when he questioned, doubted, and disobeyed—but he never turned away from God. I was in college when I heard him speak and I didn’t have my parents looking over my shoulder to make sure I was making the right choices. I was struggling with my faith and needed to hear Dan’s testimony. It showed me that I didn't have to turn away from God, that contrary to what society tells us, it's possible to be a young person who never stops following God.

A few years later, I went to a different FCA camp down in Pennsylvania. This time, Dan didn’t speak. Instead, we heard powerful stories about former alcoholics and gang leaders who became Christians in jail.

On the last day of camp, I was talking with the 8th grade girls in my group. They told me the testimonies they heard were awesome . . . but that they couldn’t relate to them. One girl asked why they never heard testimonies of people who struggle with smaller things, like gossip or body image or bullying. She said those were struggles she could relate to.

Another girl added, “I feel like first you have to go out and rebel against God and start living life the wrong way, so that in the future you can have a good testimony to share with people.”

(I think Frankie Ballard shares this unfortunate opinion).

Sadly, she’s right. In America, we love redemption stories. Think about The Biggest Loser: We like to see a person lose 250 pounds and transform into a whole new person, but we’d never watch a show about a guy who had always exercised and eaten fruits and vegetables, and now needed to lose a few pounds. We’d find that boring. 


But we need to stop thinking that way when it comes to our testimonies. If you never struggled with your weight, does that make you any less fit? Of course not. In that same way, we need to realize that we don’t have to rebel against God to have a story to tell. 

Take a look at my parents. My dad has a great testimony about turning away from God as a teenager and then coming back to Christ in college. It’s a great story. 

But my mom has a great story, too. She had struggles, sure, but—like Dan—she never turned away from God. Her story is just as important as my dad’s, but we rarely seem to hear testimonies like that. We need more of them.

Some of you may have dramatic conversion stories—and that’s awesome. If God saved you from depression, or drugs, or an abusive situation, you need to share your story. You never know who needs to hear about God's all-encompassing grace, forgiveness, and love.

But if you grew up in a Christian home and think you don’t have a story worth sharing, you’re wrong. Even if you think you have a “boring testimony,” you need to share it.
 

I can’t help that I have a boring conversion story—I blame that on my Jesus-loving parents—but I can still have a testimony worth sharing. My testimony began when I was 5 years old and it’s still being written; if my testimony isn’t changing, then I'm not growing in Christ.

Dan’s “boring testimony” helped me stay faithful to God during a tough period of my life. No matter how boring you think your testimony is, share your story, because you never know who needs to hear it.

Here’s my challenge to you: Declare how much God has done for you. Your testimony is the story of how God has worked and continues to work in your life.

That’s a story worth sharing.



(I'll be sharing my own boring testimony on here soon).