Guidelines for Ultreya Witness Talk
The Witness talk should be 5 to 10 minutes in length. The talk is not a Bible teaching, a conversion story or instruction in Christianity and does not have to be a polished speech. The talk focuses on a recent experience of our Christian life, similar to telling our family at home of some memorable experience of the day.
A witness talk is about the speaker’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ and how he/she is trying to bring others to know Christ. The aim of the talk is to demonstrate a Christian witness within the ordinary circumstances of life using a single experience.
The talk should be about an experience within the last few weeks or months. It should not be a life history but a simple relating of a recent every-day-evangelism experience that will encourage and inspire others. The lay witness talk should give the community a sense of sharing a common goal and of not working alone.
The talk should be concrete, practical and realistic by describing who, how, where, why and when the apostolic action occurred. It should give the results of the action. Sometimes the results will be positive, sometimes negative. But always, the action should be about the work of witnessing for Christ, with the conclusion of the talk being concrete. Those who are asked to give witness talks will want to pray for God’s guiding hand to be upon them, and for those that will hear the talk. They may also enlist others to pray for their talk and for the Ultreya.
Here are some questions that may help those preparing a witness talk:
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A witness talk is about the speaker’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ and how he/she is trying to bring others to know Christ. The aim of the talk is to demonstrate a Christian witness within the ordinary circumstances of life using a single experience.
The talk should be about an experience within the last few weeks or months. It should not be a life history but a simple relating of a recent every-day-evangelism experience that will encourage and inspire others. The lay witness talk should give the community a sense of sharing a common goal and of not working alone.
The talk should be concrete, practical and realistic by describing who, how, where, why and when the apostolic action occurred. It should give the results of the action. Sometimes the results will be positive, sometimes negative. But always, the action should be about the work of witnessing for Christ, with the conclusion of the talk being concrete. Those who are asked to give witness talks will want to pray for God’s guiding hand to be upon them, and for those that will hear the talk. They may also enlist others to pray for their talk and for the Ultreya.
Here are some questions that may help those preparing a witness talk:
- Does this talk reveal Christ in the life of the speaker?
- Will this talk show intentional apostolic action – evangelism?
- Does Jesus hold the most important place in the talk?
- Will this experience stimulate those that hear the talk to think of things they might do to transform their home, work, parish, recreation, or other environments for Christ?
Click here for a printable version of this page.