Recently, I was challenged to learn to give my testimony in 15 seconds. Everyone was trained on what to include and had a partner to practice with. If you only had a few minutes with someone, it would be helpful to get the person interested in the Gospel.

The point: To share what Jesus did in my life when He saved me, and find out if the person I’m sharing with is a Christian.

My 15-second testimony:

Before I knew Jesus, I was lost. I did not even know I needed Him.

Then, one day, the Holy Spirit spoke to me in my head and explained my spiritual condition. That day, I accepted Jesus into my heart.

Since then, my life has had purpose in Him.

Do you have a story like that?

If they do. Wonderful. If they say no, ask if they have a few minutes for you to share.

The following explanation uses the acrostic

G O S P E L~

GOD’S DESIGN– (Genesis 1-2, Ephesians 2:10) – God is outside of creation. Everything we see and don’t see, and other spiritual beings, came from nothing into existence. At first, it was only God. Everything came by the voice of God and it was good. Then He made male and female in the image of God. This makes us different from every other thing. We are created like this so we can have a relationship with God.

Adam and Eve could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A snake(satan) came with a question -“Did God really say…?” Eve answered correctly, but when she said the one prohibition, the snake said, “that’s not so. You will not die.”

OFFENSE OF SIN – We have a holy God(Genesis 3, Romans 3:23). People with sin rebel against the rule of God. There are two consequences to sin:

• Sin always leads to death (Romans 6:23).

• Sin always leads to brokenness.

SALVATION IN CHRIST ALONE – (John 14:6, Romans 5:8) – People try to be good. People get “religious.” But there is nothing we can do. We need someone to save us. Someone without sin must do it. He lived a human life, but He differs from us in that He did not sin. We are born in the image of God, but because we are born human we have a sinful nature. Because He had no sin, He is righteous. When we receive Him, He gives us His righteousness.

PERSONAL RESPONSE – (Romans 10:9-10,13) – Repenting is turning from sin to God. We need faith and trust in Jesus and to believe in the whole work of Jesus. We must confess Jesus as Lord. Even in the garden, Jesus asked God if there was any other way. There is no other way(John 14:6).

ETERNAL RECONCILIATION – (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) – Once we have been saved it is a work of God that cannot be undone. Why? Because it was not my work. Since it is God’s work that saved you – it cannot be undone. Sin is serious, but it does not undue the work of God that saved you. Once you are saved, you are to work out your salvation with fear and trembling(Phil 2;12-13). You are not working to keep your salvation. Jesus is working in you until He returns.

LIFE TRANSFORMATION – If someone is saved then their whole life should be different(Matthew 7:17-20, James 2:26). We are designed to be in relationship with God.

Once you become familiar with the acrostic you can have confidence that the Holy Spirit will help you when you have opportunities to share. It is tempting to say more. But if you think through how you came to know Jesus, you can shrink it down to BEFORE – THEN- SINCE. My 15 seconds does not tell how old I was. It doesn’t include a season when I doubted my salvation, or the seasons I didn’t please the Lord even as a Christian. None of that is necessary in the 15 second testimony. Once you figure out your 15 seconds, ask God to give you strength to share it.

There are many ways to lead someone to saving faith in Christ Jesus. Maybe this one will be helpful to you!

©Valerie Rumfelt

The fruit of the [consistently] righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise captures and wins souls [for God—he gathers them for eternity]. Proverbs 11:30 AMP