Testimony

Definition and Meaning

A testimony (Korean ganjeung, 干證) is the sharing, in speech or in writing, of a faith experience, such as how one came to believe in God, an answer to prayer, or the overcoming of hardship, in order to bear witness to what God has done. In the church, the term chiefly refers to sharing a conversion story, an experience of healing from illness or of overcoming difficulty, or the course of one's growth in faith. A person who gives a testimony is called a "testifier," and a gathering centered on testimonies is called a "testimony meeting."

Biblical and Historical Background

Biblical passages in which people bear witness to what they have experienced are frequently cited as the basis for testimony. In Psalm 66:16 the psalmist declares that he will tell what God has done for his soul. In Mark 5:19 Jesus tells a man who has been healed to go home and tell his family what the Lord has done for him. In John 9 a man whose eyes have been opened testifies to what happened to him. The scenes in Acts 22 and 26, in which Paul recounts his conversion, are also commonly cited as representative examples.

In church history, the eighteenth-century Methodist movement led by John Wesley placed great importance on sharing faith experiences in small groups. Through the subsequent revival movements in Britain and America, the practice of publicly recounting one's conversion experience spread widely. The testimony culture of Korean churches is also understood to have been shaped by this revivalist tradition.

Practice in Korean Churches

Testimonies are frequently given at revival meetings, dedication services, retreats, and evangelistic rallies. Churches sometimes include a brief testimony segment in their worship services, and they also hold testimony meetings to which they invite Christian entertainers, athletes, and other public figures. Reports from short-term missions and the sharing of life experiences in small groups also count as testimony in the broader sense.

The emphasis varies by denomination.

• Full Gospel churches and other Pentecostal bodies regard testimonies of experiences of the Holy Spirit, such as healing, speaking in tongues, and answered prayer, as an important means of spiritual growth and evangelism.
• Methodist and Holiness churches, following the Wesleyan tradition, have long valued the sharing of experiences of conversion and sanctification.
• Baptist churches often ask candidates to give an account of their own conversion experience before receiving baptism by immersion.
• Presbyterian and other Reformed traditions use testimony as a source of encouragement in the faith, while tending to stress that personal experience must not take the place of Scripture and preaching.

Some critics argue that testimonies can exaggerate experiences or present material success as a reward for faith, thereby drifting toward prosperity theology. Defenders of testimony hold that the concrete lives of ordinary church members serve as living evidence of the gospel.