The Ten Commandments for Testimony Service
Author Unknown

I. Only testify when you have something positive to say. Providing a list of your hardships, battles, and frustrations is a bad influence to spread before Christians and non-Christians alike who are in attendance.

II. Keep in mind that a testimony is not a sermon. A testimony is the process of relating a firsthand account of events which have happened in one’s presence or life. In the case of Christians, this means the wonderful workings of grace in their lives.

III. Avoid the excessive use of the pronoun, “I.” Seek to bring attention to Christ. We should strive to be humble in the practice of testifying. It is by the grace and mercy of God that any of us should obtain any degree of sanctity.

IV. Be courteous to others in the service, especially the person who is scheduled to speak or preach. If you wait until just before the sermon to testify, be sure that the Holy Spirit is directing you to, in effect, take the preacher’s allotted time. God gives preacher sermons to preach; only God should delay the delivery of the sermon, not man.

V. Be brief. Stand up. Speak up. Shut up. And then sit down. This might sound harsh, but I think it is logical and sensible. There is an old saying to the effect that expensive gifts come in small packages. Much can be said in few words and a short amount of time.

VI. The life you live at home, on the job, and in the neighborhood must be consistent with your testimony at church. Otherwise, save your breath, strength, and time, and quit testifying. The final proof of the validity of one’s testimony is a consistent example in the twists and turns of life.

VII. Never use your testimony to vent your feelings or frustrations about others, the church, or the pastor. Not only is it not ethical to do so, but it is an outright insult to God, His Sanctuary, and His Divine Purpose.

VIII. When people begin to cease looking at you as you testify, and the one in charge of the service begins to look restless, you know for sure that you have testified too long. As a general rule, this is true. There may be a few exceptions, but not many.

IX. When testifying, always speak with enough volume to be heard. It is detrimental to the service, and certainly to your testimony, to speak so softly that no one enjoys it other than yourself.

X. Always testify to the Glory of God.

XI. Remember, the word “TESTIMONY” does not mean MOAN about your TEST!

The above article, “The Ten Commandments for Testimony Service” was written by Author Unknown. The article was excerpted from Apostolic Standard magazine.

The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.

This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”