ROOTED · WEEK 10
Tell your story.
You do not need a microphone, a stage, or all the answers to tell someone what Jesus has done in your life.
Leader Prep · 5 Minutes
Take the pressure off evangelism.
Students may imagine evangelism as walking up to a stranger with a speech they have memorized.
That can make witness feel intimidating before they ever begin.
Tonight, bring it closer: What has Jesus done in your life, and can you explain that honestly to another person?
Testimony is not the whole gospel, but it can create a powerful bridge to the gospel.
The goal is not to make students feel guilty for every person they have not evangelized. The goal is to give them confidence to speak about Jesus naturally, clearly, and faithfully.
The Big Idea
You don't have to know everything to tell what you know about Jesus.
Christian witness is not winning arguments. It is faithfully pointing people toward Christ through the truth of the gospel and the evidence of what He has done in our lives.
Scripture
Paul tells his story.
ACTS 26:9-23When Paul stands before King Agrippa, he does not begin with a complicated presentation.
He tells what his life was like, explains how he encountered Jesus, and describes what changed afterward.
His testimony is personal, but it remains centered on Christ.
Paul does not make himself the hero. Jesus is the turning point of the story.
Tonight's Flow
Build it. Practice it. Pray for courage.
Every student should leave with a simple version of their testimony they could actually share.
Table
Ask students who first helped them understand Jesus, and what made that person's faith believable or meaningful.
Word
Read selected portions of Acts 26:9-23 and use the teaching points below.
Build + Practice
Help students write their story using Before Jesus · Jesus · Now, then practice sharing with a partner.
Pray
Pray for specific people students know and for boldness to recognize opportunities to speak about Jesus.
Teaching Guide · 15 Minutes
Four truths to establish.
Keep witness centered on Jesus, grounded in truth, and dependent on the Holy Spirit.
You are a witness, not the Savior.
Your responsibility is to faithfully point people toward Jesus. You cannot force someone to believe, argue someone into repentance, or change a heart. God does the saving.
Your story matters because Jesus is in it.
A testimony does not need to be dramatic. You may have been raised in church. Your story may involve God protecting, forgiving, changing, restoring, calling, or steadily forming you. The important part is what Christ has done.
Your story should lead toward the gospel.
Testimony says, "Here is what Jesus has done in me." The gospel says, "Here is what Jesus has done for us." Witness should eventually point beyond our experience toward Christ's death, resurrection, forgiveness, and call to repentance and faith.
The Holy Spirit gives boldness.
Jesus promised power to His followers so they could become His witnesses. Christian witness is not merely human confidence. We ask the Holy Spirit for courage, wisdom, compassion, and the right words.
Build Your Testimony
Keep it simple.
What was true before?
What did you struggle with? What did you believe? What were you searching for? Keep this honest without glorifying sin or adding unnecessary details.
What did Christ do?
How did you come to understand the gospel? When did you repent, believe, surrender, or recognize that you needed Jesus? Make Him the center of the story.
What is changing?
What has Jesus forgiven, changed, healed, taught, or begun doing in you? You do not have to pretend your story is finished. Talk honestly about what He is doing now.
Don't Stop At Your Story
Know the gospel too.
A testimony can show someone that Jesus changes lives, but salvation is not found in having an inspiring story.
Students should understand the central message they are pointing toward:
God created us for relationship with Him. Sin separates us from God. Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again. Salvation comes through repentance and faith in Christ. He forgives, gives new life, and calls us to follow Him.
We do not change the gospel to make it easier to accept. We communicate it with truth, love, humility, and dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Talk
Make witness feel possible.
What makes talking about Jesus feel awkward or intimidating?
Why is your testimony different from simply giving someone advice?
Why is it important that Jesus, not you, becomes the main point of your story?
What should you do if someone asks you a question about faith and you genuinely do not know the answer?
Who is one person in your life you would like to see come to know Jesus?
Practice + Pray
Tell it in three minutes.
Give students time to write a short testimony:
Before Jesus: What was true?
Jesus: What did He do?
Now: What is He doing in me?
Pair students and let each person practice sharing. Encourage clarity, honesty, and simplicity.
Pray for one name.
Ask every student to write the name of one person who needs Jesus.
Pray: "Holy Spirit, give me compassion, courage, wisdom, and an opportunity to point this person toward Jesus. Help me recognize the moment and be faithful when it comes."
Leader Coaching
Notice this.
Parent Table Talk
Tell your student your story.
Don't assume they already know how you came to faith or what Jesus has done in you.
If someone asked why you follow Jesus, what would you say?
Tell your student your own testimony using Before Jesus · Jesus · Now.
Let your student practice their testimony with you. Encourage them without rewriting it for them.
Pray together for one person your family wants to see come to faith in Christ.
Before Week Eleven
Put a name to the mission.
Encourage every student to keep praying for the one person they identified.
Challenge students to look for one natural opportunity to talk about faith rather than forcing a conversation.
If a student gets asked something they cannot answer, teach them to say, "I don't know, but I'll find out."
Celebrate obedience even when the conversation does not produce an immediate visible response.
Begin listening for something deeper: Is God creating a sustained burden, gifting, or sense of assignment in any student?
Next
Week 11 - Could God Be Calling Me?
Students have learned to know God, live by conviction, serve, and witness. Next, we ask a bigger question: could the gifts, burdens, opportunities, and spiritual desires emerging in them be pointing toward God's call?