Beyond the Forward Button: Becoming a Witness
A believer can certainly share or forward third-party Christian content, and there is nothing inherently wrong with doing so. The deeper question, however, is what are we contributing to the Christian community through our own voice, testimony, experience, and ministry?
There is a significant difference between distributing someone else’s message and bearing witness to what God has done in your own life.
WHY SHARE SOMEONE ELSE’S CONTENT WHEN YOU CAN SHARE YOUR OWN TESTIMONY?
1. Forwarding content informs; personal testimony witnesses
A forwarded sermon, video, article, quotation, or devotional may inform people.
But a testimony says:
“This is what God has done in me.”
The early church did not merely distribute theological information. Believers testified to what they had personally seen and experienced.
Psalm 66:16 — “Come and hear, all you that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.”
The emphasis is personal: what He has done for my soul.
1. Your experience is something nobody else can reproduce
Someone else can preach about God’s faithfulness.
But they cannot tell your story.
Someone else can teach about God’s provision.
But they cannot describe how God provided for you.
Someone else can preach about restoration.
But they cannot testify about how God restored you.
Your personal experience becomes a unique testimony of God’s activity.
Revelation 12:11 speaks of overcoming “by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.”
Your testimony is therefore not merely a personal story. It can become ministry to another person.
1. The Christian community needs witnesses, not only consumers
There is a danger of becoming a Christian content consumer rather than a Christian witness.
We read.
We watch.
We forward.
We repost.
We comment.
We like.
But eventually we should ask:
“What am I personally contributing?”
Paul reminded Timothy:
“Be thou an example of the believers…”
— 1 Timothy 4:12
Christian maturity involves moving from simply receiving to participating.
A healthy Christian community should not consist of people continually passing around what others have produced. It should also contain people who say:
“Let me tell you what I have learned.”
“Let me tell you what God has done.”
“Let me share what I have experienced in ministry.”
1. Your testimony gives credibility to your faith
A testimony does not replace Scripture, theology, or sound biblical teaching.
But it demonstrates how biblical truth has intersected with real life.
For example:
* “God is faithful” is biblical truth.
* “I experienced God’s faithfulness when I went through this situation” is testimony.
* “This Scripture became real to me during that season” is personal experience.
The testimony connects biblical truth with lived experience.
That can be tremendously encouraging to someone who is currently walking through a similar situation.
1. People want to know what God is doing in your life
This is perhaps the most important point.
People are naturally interested in real stories of God’s work.
They want to know:
* How did God lead you?
* What did you learn?
* What happened when you prayed?
* How did God answer?
* What did you discover through hardship?
* How did God open a door?
* What mistake did you make?
* What did God teach you?
* How did your faith change?
* What is God doing through your ministry?
These are not necessarily stories designed to glorify the individual.
They can become stories that glorify God through the individual.
Psalm 105:2 says:
“Talk ye of all his wondrous works.”
There is biblical precedent for telling others about God’s works.
1. Personal experiences can become encouragement for others
You may think your experience is ordinary.
Someone else may see it as an answer to prayer.
You may think:
“This is just what happened to me.”
Someone else may think:
“This is exactly what I am going through.”
Your experience could therefore become a source of:
encouragement, instruction, warning, confirmation and hope.
Paul frequently shared his own ministry experiences because his experiences could strengthen others.
For example, in 2 Corinthians 1:3–4, Paul explains that the comfort he received from God enabled him to comfort others.
There is a ministry principle here:
What God teaches you personally can eventually become something through which God teaches someone else.
1. Your failures can sometimes minister more powerfully than your successes
Personal testimony does not mean presenting a perfect Christian life.
In fact, some of the most valuable testimonies involve:
* failures,
* mistakes,
* disappointments,
* unanswered questions,
* difficult seasons,
* wrong decisions,
* spiritual struggles,
* lessons learned,
* God’s correction,
* restoration.
The important thing is to share these experiences wisely, truthfully and with appropriate discretion.
Paul was not afraid to speak about his weaknesses.
2 Corinthians 12:9:
“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
A believer who can honestly say “I learned something through this” may help prevent another believer from making the same mistake.
1. Third-party content should supplement your ministry—not become your ministry
There is nothing wrong with sharing an excellent sermon, Bible teaching, Christian article or encouraging video.
In fact, good content should be shared when it genuinely benefits people.
But there is a difference between:
Sharing content occasionally
and
continually outsourcing your spiritual contribution to other people’s content.
The first can be ministry.
The second can reveal that we have become content distributors rather than contributors.
A Christian community benefits when people both:
SHARE WHAT OTHERS HAVE TAUGHT
and
SHARE WHAT GOD HAS TAUGHT THEM.
1. Before forwarding, ask: “Why am I sharing this?”
This is a valuable personal discipline.
Before pressing Forward, ask:
Is it biblical?
Does it agree with Scripture?
Is it relevant?
Does the community actually need it?
Is it edifying?
Will it strengthen people’s faith?
Is it trustworthy?
Is the source reliable?
Am I adding value?
Am I simply forwarding, or can I explain why this matters?
Is this my voice?
Do I have something I personally learned from this?
Sometimes adding even a short personal reflection changes the nature of the contribution.
Instead of merely forwarding:
“Please watch this.”
You can say:
“I watched this and one particular point reminded me of what God taught me during a difficult season…”
Now you are not merely distributing content.
You are sharing a spiritual reflection.
1. Personal testimony creates relational ministry
Third-party content is often impersonal.
Your testimony is relational.
When you say:
“I went through this.”
People begin to see the person behind the faith.
When you say:
“God taught me this.”
People become interested in your spiritual journey.
When you say:
“This is what I learned through ministry.”
You begin to disciple others through experience.
This is particularly valuable in Christian communities where members may already have access to thousands of sermons, videos, podcasts and articles online.
What they cannot find on the internet is your personal journey with God.
1. Don’t underestimate the ministry of one simple testimony
You do not need to be a famous preacher.
You do not need thousands of followers.
You do not need a theological degree to say:
“Let me tell you what God has done.”
The man born blind in John 9 did not possess a theological treatise.
His testimony was essentially:
“I was blind, and now I see.”
His personal experience became a powerful witness.
That is the beauty of testimony.
You may not be able to explain everything, but you can testify to what God has done.
1. Your ministry journey itself can become a teaching resource
If God has called you into ministry, your journey contains lessons.
People can learn from:
* your calling,
* preparation,
* obedience,
* disappointments,
* opportunities,
* mistakes,
* relationships,
* leadership experiences,
* spiritual battles,
* breakthroughs,
* failures,
* restoration,
* lessons from Scripture,
* encounters with people,
* lessons from serving.
These experiences should not become opportunities for self-promotion.
Instead:
“What did God teach me through this?”
That question changes everything.
The focus moves from “Look at me” to “Look at what God taught me.”
1. The strongest testimony points beyond the person to God
This is critical.
Personal testimony must not become:
“Look how successful I am.”
It should become:
“Look what God has done.”
The difference is enormous.
Galatians 6:14 reminds us that our ultimate boasting is in Christ.
Therefore, when sharing personal experiences, the objective should be:
Not self-glorification, but God-glorification.
Not:
“I accomplished this.”
But:
“God gave me the opportunity to do this.”
Not:
“I overcame because I was strong.”
But:
“God sustained me when I was weak.”
Not:
“Look at my ministry.”
But:
“Look at what God is doing through this ministry.”
1. A Christian community should become a collection of testimonies
Imagine a community where people don’t merely forward content.
Instead, members occasionally share:
“This week God taught me…”
“I experienced God’s faithfulness when…”
“This Scripture spoke to me because…”
“In my ministry, I recently learned…”
“I made this mistake, and God showed me…”
“I prayed about this, and this is what happened…”
“God opened this opportunity…”
“Please pray for this ministry opportunity…”
Such a community becomes much more than a content-sharing platform.
It becomes a community of witnesses.
THE BALANCE
The answer is not:
“Never forward third-party Christian content.”
Rather:
SHARE SCRIPTURE.
SHARE GOOD TEACHING.
SHARE RESOURCES.
SHARE ENCOURAGEMENT.
But don’t forget to share your testimony.
Because the Christian community does not only need another video.
Sometimes it needs your story.
It needs to hear:
What has God done in your life?
What has God taught you?
Where has God brought you from?
What are you experiencing with God today?
What is God doing through your ministry?
A SIMPLE PRINCIPLE
Third-party content tells people what someone else has experienced.
Personal testimony tells people what God has done in you.
Ministry experience tells people what God is doing through you.
And when these are shared with humility and biblical wisdom, they can become powerful instruments of encouragement.
Don’t merely be a forwarding Christian. Be a witnessing Christian.
Don’t only distribute somebody else’s testimony. Tell people what God has done in yours.
Don’t only share what God is doing elsewhere. When appropriate, let the community see what God is doing in your life and ministry.
Ultimately, the question is not simply “What content can I share?”
It is:
“What has God entrusted to me that can bless somebody else?”
1 Peter 4:10 provides the governing principle: each believer is to use whatever gift he or she has received to serve others as a faithful steward of God’s grace.
That means your testimony, your lessons, your experiences and your ministry journey can themselves become resources for the Body of Christ.
Comments
Post a Comment