This post is part of the Testimony Revolution series. Get future posts delivered to you for free by grabbing the RSS feed or email updates.

You’ve switched your story, you’ve planned your approach, and now you’re ready to bring your testimony to life.

At this point, you already understand what you need to create your testimony. You only lack exciting, insanely useful experiences in your testimony. So far, your testimony consists only of plans.

“Hi, friend, I became a Christian and planned all this: blah, blah, blah…”

You might be a step ahead of your friend but not compelling enough to convince anyone.

Who cares what you plan. . .

Your testimony truly inspires or fails based on how well you accomplish the creation step. It doesn’t matter how well you plan your testimony if you never live it. And it doesn’t matter how well you live your plan if you fail to flourish.

I love flourishing and each day try to make it a part of who I am, so I’ve gathered a list of 25 tips as a growth guide. This is by no means comprehensive – I’d like you to add your own suggestions in the comments.

I divided the list into three parts: strategy, tools, and tactics. The strategy covers general concepts. The tactics provide practical instructions. And the tools help you implement the first two sets.

The strategy is fairly essential. You won’t get too far without applying those tips. Not all of the tactics and tools, though, will apply to every part of your testimony. They suggest ideas, but please, make them your own.

Oh, and be sure to read the last one.

The strategy

1. Focus on being, not doing

While the Bible tells us to do plenty, Christians should primarily focus on being – being what God wants us to be. We don’t please God by what we do. We please God by who we are. Most of the other suggestions in this list center around what you can do. The crucial part of a flourishing life, though, is in being what God wants.

You can part seas, cure cancer, or lead crusades, but it’s who you are that matters. It’s what you believe that matters. It’s what you do on a daily basis with your beliefs that matters. Habits form character, and character forms who you are. A few mighty acts here and there don’t impress God. Faith impresses God.

Trust God, and create you testimony out of your relationship with Him. The rest of this, the “doing” parts, will become habits and will flow naturally from your relationship with God.

2. Flee sin

Eliminating sin from your life leads to drastic results, so it’s a great place to start. Consider the number one, perpetual sin in you life. How does it hold you back from being whom God wants? How might removing that sin change your life and provide an excellent testimony for others?

Now go run away.

3. Copy perfect examples

To flee sin, you need to run toward righteousness. Otherwise, you’ll wind up fleeing one sin only to fall into another.

Find a model to copy. Jesus is always an exceptional specimen.

“For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.” – John 18:38

How did He live? Read the first four books of the New Testament for ideas.

You can also look to your brothers and sisters in Christ. How do they match what Scripture teaches? Copy that – it’s perfect.

4. Serve others

“And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” – Matthew 20:27-28

When you put others before yourself, you put on the nature of Christ. What better way to build your testimony then by providing genuine value for others as Jesus did.

5. Engage

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore…’” – Matthew 28:18-19

Question: What’s one major feature of an A.D. testimony? Answer: The ability to create it rather than let it happen.

God has given you the opportunity to engage life and form your testimony. So engage.

Find people. Start conversations. Seek God’s direction for your life.

Act. Volunteer. Give.

Be who God wants.

The tactics

6. Make others feel amazing

“Therefore comfort each other and edify one another….” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Encourage others in what they do. Show that you appreciate them.

Examples:

– “Great job, _____.”
– “Thank you for showing me how this works.”
– “Happy birthday, ______!”

Simple words can go a long way. A smile, a warm coat, or a mug of root beer can too.

7. Make others look amazing

“And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

Talk about your friends behind their back. Let everyone else know how wonderful they are.

Examples:

– “I liked what _____ said.”
– “_____ helped me when I needed advice.”
– “I’m always encouraged when I’m around _____.”

You can also make others look amazing with what you do. If you work on a project with a group and it succeeds, everyone in the group comes away blessed by your involvement. Everyone looks amazing even if you did all the work.

Usually I’m upset when this happens – I admit. Instead, we should set up these opportunities on purpose to bless the whole group.

8. Exaggerate simple experiences

One way to come up with intriguing ideas is to take one simple experiences and exaggerate it. For example, reading a story to a child. What if instead of reading one story to one kid you read 100 stories to 100 kids in the next three weeks? Or instead of “smiling more” you smiled for three hours straight… at a mall?

9. Simplify big experiences

Some might leave all their possessions to live in a foreign country as a missionary. Maybe don’t go that far. Instead could you do that for a week or perhaps a month? Or how about gathering a group of Christians (tip #18) to send one of you?

10. Plan ahead

We already talked about this in the planning article. For some of the more complicated tasks, you might have to go back and revise your plans. Planning can help you accomplish more.

11. Don’t plan ahead

Sometimes the most fruitful experiences happen spontaneously. You don’t plan to help strangers jump-start a dead car battery for example. This is where being instead of doing comes into play (tip #1). Your reactions show your true nature.

12. Harness pain and release blessings

Stuff happens (to put it mildly). If it’s not your fault, it’s God’s. Take advantage of it. God doesn’t send pain for no reason. Often the pain deepens the blessings received afterward.

Many examples of testimonies in the Bible were a direct result of pain leading to blessings. Take Job, Stephen, Jesus (He’s a favorite of mine for examples as you’ve probably noticed).

Few of us enjoy pain, but God exploits it all the time to create massive blessings and unforgettable stories. If God does it, with his help you should too.

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.” – Psalm 116:15

13. Interact with others in person

Face to face relationships drive true friendships. Something about presence makes us bind together.

We often discount these importance physical connections. In an age of wireless electronics, we know all about distance relationships. But we forget – the process surges forward faster and is ultimately more intimate when it’s founded in person.

14. Hunt for the herds

Where do your friends gather? Where do people in general gather? You can easily generate excitement in the middle of a throng of people.

Try malls, concerts, churches, parks, seminars, schools, downtown sidewalks. It’s easy when you hunt.

15. Start local

“…repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” – Luke 24:47

You know the locals. You already should have some reputation with them. You have networks and relationships already established. Start there.

16. Then go global

As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” – John 17:18

Take what you do locally and send it further away. What do you offer consistently that you could spread broader? How could you do it? (Hint: you might find parts of the answer in other sections of this article.)

17. Act as though your testimony includes all your actions (it does)

You don’t put on an “I’m creating my testimony” hat. You life is your testimony. Every behavior, every conversation, every habit contributes to your testimony.

You live in a terrarium, and – like the lizard in the pet store – you’re on display. Maybe you didn’t notice – you were on display before becoming a Christian. If you happened to work at a local restaurant, your friends judged other restaurant workers in relation to you. Restaurant workers don’t care they make other restaurant workers look. As a Christian, though, you should care how people judge other Christians. You reflect Christ. Or at least you’re supposed to. That’s your testimony.

The tools

18. Create teams

Consider:

– Achilles (and his Myrmidons)
– Robin Hood (and his merry men)
– Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (and Winky)

Perhaps not the most convincing examples. Teams allow you take on bigger challenges, strengthen others, and end up encouraged. Another example:

– Jesus (and His twelve disciples)

19. Set up metrics

You’ll fail to know progress if you fail to measure. Yes, you will often venture out in faith, not knowing exactly why God calls you to do something. After all, God calls us to walk by faith and not by sight.

But more often than not, you can (and should) measure what you do. Usually ignorance (or perhaps laziness) keeps us from calculating our steps.

Don’t do that (can I be any more obvious?).

Use your God-given tools to determine your effectiveness. You can measure your progress through the criticism of other believers (and sometimes unbelievers), through prayer, and through comparisons with Bible. And you can also measure practically. In tip #8, I mentioned reading 100 books to 100 children in three weeks and smiling for three hours straight. Measurements like these ground your testimony in tangible results.

20. Leverage communication technology

Use your telephone (and text messages), email, facebook, myspace, blog (and comments), twitter, snail mail, paper airplanes, anything to communicate with others.

Technology can often expand your reach to a wider audience. Don’t sacrifice personal interaction. Put technology to work instead only to augment your communication.

It’s fast. It’s cheap. It’s exciting.

21. Speak the gospel

Your entire testimony should reveal the gospel. But why not say it while you create your testimony? Tell others about Christ and what He did for them. Proclaim His love. Use your voice.

You can preach a better sermon with your lips than without them.

22. Feed others

Who doesn’t enjoy food? Jesus mastered this (think water into wine or five loaves and a couple fish or that eternal banquet I keep hearing about). People love food. Find a way to combine it in your testimony, and you’ll hook anyone.

23. Grab attention with randomness

“Albuquerque.”

24. Give physical gifts

“A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer.” – Seneca

People see through facades. But if you give with a servant’s heart, a gift can inspire and provoke others to wonder why you’re generous. We focus not on materialism but on meeting people with what they understand. Everyone understands an authentic gift.

(Extra: non-physical gifts can work also)

25. Follow the Holy Spirit

…The essential tip for creating your remarkable testimony. The first 24 tips? …forgettable. That’s okay – you can come back when you forget. What you should remember is this:

The Holy Spirit is your ultimate guide. He’s your power, your direction, and your connection to God. When in doubt, follow Him. When not in doubt, follow Him. He’s always right, always present, and always helping.

Ah, the benefits of loving God.

Miscellaneous Tips

For even more ideas (as if you’re not sick of me yet), read my posts on interested action, support, and showing your love for Jesus.

:>) Observe as you go

This applies mainly to the next step where you will take the testimony you’ve created and gather it into a coherent story. To do that, you need to know what happened when you created your testimony.

Throughout the creation process (and here I mean your whole life), constantly observe what occurs around you, in you, and through you. How do others act before you act? What is your reaction to them? What were you thinking when you did that? How does this experience teach you to love God? How can you use this experience to teach others of life with Jesus Christ?

Keep you spiritual senses attuned to how the Holy Spirit might grow you to attract others.

The first article in this series included the subtitle, “Shifting Your Story To Change Lives.” One life changed in the process of creating your testimony is your own. Without anyone else to see your testimony, hear your testimony, or draw closer to Jesus through your testimony, shifting your story to focus on life WITH Christ will change your life.

In other words, if you stopped here, you would still have changed at least one life – yours.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) If you have your homework from the planning article, scan it now. How can you use some of these tips to bring your plan to life? Take one of the paragraphs you wrote and see how you can expand it or make it more practical or exciting.

(2) One of the best ways to apply what you learn is to implement what you learn immediately. Do something right now that contributes to your testimony. Something as simple as an email to a friend you haven’t contacted in a while can further inspire you to pursue active creation of your testimony in the future. Start small now.

(3) Then go big. I don’t mean Billy Graham Crusade big (though you could do that too). I mean go with what you wrote in your plan. Inject some of these tips and follow through. The real deciding point now is whether you decide to act or not. Are you going to live aimlessly without any story in mind, or are you going to live to the hilt as a testimony to your Savior?