The Power of Your Testimony: The PERIOD AND PLACE of Your Story 

Greetings,

As we continue with highlights of the five key areas (or 5Ps) of our story/testimony as a tool for intentional personal evangelism, I will introduce us to the third P this month, which  is the PERIOD and PLACE. But before then, let me do a quick recap. 

The 5Ps of our story revolves around these 5 Key areas:

• Problem Area
• Picture of the Problem
• Period / Place
• Person Now
• Praise and Prayers

So far, we have dealt with two of the Ps (Problem Areas and Picture of the problems). The Problem Areas are the crisis areas of our life before we met Christ and a brief illustration of those problem areas (Picture). These two areas should feature in our stories, regardless of the depth of the problem or the nature of the sin because the Bible says, “ALL have sinned” (Rom 3:23).

The “PERIOD and PLACE” briefly speaks of the PLACE and PERIOD where we met Christ; in other words, where and when we met the Lord and He changed our life. It could have been at a church service, outreach programs, house/cell fellowship or at a revival program or through a Gospel conversation by a friend, neighbor or a total stranger on a particular day/date. The Period or Place enables us to identify the time (could be a specific date or season that God really changed our lives.

The goal of the Period and Place is for people to understand that God could use any platforms and opportunities to reconcile people to Himself through the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although, we also understand that in some cases, we might not remember the exact date (Period) that we met Christ, this should not be an issue as explaining the circumstances around that time would be sufficient. For example, “Around the summer of 2024, I was invited by a friend to a block party organized by ABC church in Rapid City.

An example of a PERIOD and PLACE Of our story can be found in Apostle Paul’s testimony before King Agrippa. “One time the leading priests gave me permission and the authority to go to the city of Damascus. On the way there, at noon, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun. It shined all around me and those traveling with me. We all fell to the ground. Then I heard a voice talking to me in Aramaic. The voice said, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are only hurting yourself by fighting me” (Acts 26:12-14).

In Paul’s narration, even though he did not state the dates and time in figures, we could see the circumstances and illustration of the period and place where he met Christ.

Thank you for spending few minutes with me on this episode of the 5Ps. Next month, I will highlight on the fourth which is the PERSON NOW.

Remain blessed as you stay committed to reaching the lost for Christ

Segun Adeyemo (Evangelism Intern, Dakota Baptist Convention, Rapid City, SD)

P.S.—Be watching for the first video edition of “The Evangelism Hangout.” It’s coming soon!!!

Segun Adeyemo is an evangelism intern for the Dakota Baptist Convention.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” – Revelation 12:11