Preparing Your Devotion

Every morning on the trip, one of us will lead a devotion. There are enough days that everyone gets a turn — nobody misses out. A roster is coming, so you'll know your day well in advance.

Your job before we fly: have it ready.

The brief

• 5–10 minutes. It doesn't need to be big.

• Centre it on your story — what God has done in your life.

• Finish in prayer. Pray that what God has done in you, He'd do in each of us.

If you feel strongly led in a different direction, you've got agency in that. But the reason we're doing it this way: testimony literally means "do it again, God." Every time we share our stories, it lifts the faith in the room — and it means that by the end of two weeks, we'll actually know each other.

The 80/20 rule

When people share their testimony, they often spend 80% of the time on the junk before Jesus and only 20% glorifying Him.

Flip it. Give us a snapshot of what life was — then spend the bulk of your time on who Jesus is and what He's done.

A framework, if you want one

1. What was life like before?

2. How did you meet Jesus — or what has Jesus done in your life?

3. What's different now?

Then land it with one sentence: the single thing you want us to remember about your story, and about who God is through it.

A few things to take the pressure off

• It doesn't need to be dramatic. Your story is what it is, and God is glorified through it.

• Not everyone has a "before and after." Some of us grew up in church and can't name a date. That's still a story — God has done things in your life at various points, and any of them can be your framework.

• You're not handing anything in. There's just a morning where it's your turn.

One more thing

If you'd genuinely rather go first or last — because it'll play on your mind otherwise — message Sam. He'll accommodate where he can, but can't do it for everyone, so use it wisely.