As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Church, I am more convinced than ever that your personal testimony is the single most important tool you have in evangelization. Personal testimony was the way the news of the Baptism in the Spirit spread in the early days, long before websites and emails. One of the witnesses of the outpouring of the Spirit at Duquesne wrote to his friends using carbon copies (imagine!) and he simply said, “I have news too good to keep!” Another proclaimed, “I no longer have to believe in Pentecost. I’ve seen it!”

Simple words of testimony about the Lord Jesus Christ and the baptism in the Spirit on our lips, delivered with love, can change the world. Testimonies have already changed the lives of 119 million Catholics in the past 40 years and there are more conversions to come if you are willing to be a witness.

Perhaps you’ve heard this statement before. It’s shocking but true. YOU are the only bible some people will ever read. There are people in your life whose eternal salvation depends in part on your witness. You will “make flesh” the gospel message and convince them that Jesus is alive by your words and your life.

While you may not be called to speak to thousands of people at one time, I can assure you of this: You will be called on a thousand times to bear witness. Your stage may be in line at the grocery store, in a doctor’s office, at the gas station or in your kitchen. In the years remaining to each of us, God will give us a thousand opportunities to tell others that Jesus is alive and that His love and mercy are available for the asking.

Pope John Paul II has presented us with a wonderful vision as we entered this new millennium. He’s called on each member of the Body of Christ to get serious about holiness and about evangelization. “Put out into the deep and lower your nets for a catch!” (Lk. 5:4). How can you put out into the deep? Through prayer! How can you lower your nets for a catch? Through evangelism...or simply, by giving your personal testimony.

I want to challenge you to make a commitment today. Commit yourself to at least 15 minutes of personal prayer each day (work toward an hour daily if you are serious about holiness). Seek the face of Jesus. Ask Him to make you holy. Ask the Holy Spirit to use you to witness to God’s love. Then commit yourself to giving your personal witness to at least one other person in this anniversary year. Just think! If each one of us brought just one other person into the Charismatic Renewal in this Jubilee year, there could be over 200 million Catholics baptized in the Holy Spirit!

In Brazil, our brothers and sisters have taken up the challenge. There are already 12 million Brazilians baptized in the Spirit. Before this Jubilee year is out, they want to reach 20 million more. How are they going about it? The head of their National Service Committee has said, “The Renewal passes through YOU. Take your place! Give your testimony! Bring someone new to Jesus and invite them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit!”

What is your testimony? Think over your life and how it has changed for the better since you met the Lord Jesus and were baptized in the Spirit. There are usually several areas where you can see a Before and an After. Consider just one aspect of your life, like your temper and notice the change. "Before I met Jesus in a personal way, I had a violent temper. Then I made a Life in the Spirit Seminar and I was baptized in the Spirit. After that I’ve become a more patient person and my family life is a lot happier." Another example might be your prayer life. "Before I was baptized in the Spirit, I only prayed when I needed something. Then I surrendered my life unconditionally to Jesus at a charismatic renewal retreat. After that I discovered the joy of praising God in all circumstances. Prayer is now my strength."

Listen to this one from a physician friend of ours." Before I came to the Charismatic Conference in New Orleans, the only time I used the name of Jesus was when my lawn mower wouldn’t start. Then I followed my wife to the foot of the stage for an altar call, thinking that she was leaving the hall. After being prayed over that night, Jesus has become so real for me that I am now studying to become a permanent deacon and I have been on several mission trips to Ecuador."

Short, simple, sincere testimonies like that will peak the curiosity of others and get them asking questions. Be ready to “give a reason for the hope that is in you” (I Peter ). Then be ready to issue an invitation...a “Come and See”. There are Catholic Charismatic prayer meetings, conferences, Life in the Spirit Seminars, Bible Studies, retreats where your family and friends can encounter the Living Lord Jesus in the power of His Spirit, that is, if you are willing to put out into the deep of prayer and evangelization.

The Holy Spirit wants to use each one of us in some particular way to renew the face of the earth. “We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus, for good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). He is already preparing the hearts of those who will hear your personal testimony. Remember the mercies of the Lord toward you and then proclaim his marvelous deeds! © Patti Gallagher Mansfield, 2007, www.ccrno.org

Adapted from her book, Proclaim His Marvelous Deeds: How to Give a Personal Testimony available from www.ccrno.org