I’ve had Saying Is Believing: The Necessity of Testimony in Adolescent Spiritual Development by Amanda Hontz Drury on my Kindle for a year and a half now, and I’m glad I finally read it. Drury makes a compelling case that testimony isn’t just a nice tradition, it’s essential for the spiritual growth of young people. She argues that when students learn to “speak their faith out loud,” they’re not only expressing belief but actually strengthening and shaping it. As she puts it, “testimony forms us even as we are attempting to inform others.” That central theme to the book has me rethinking how we help students articulate their faith.
Drury describes testimony as a “discipline of speaking faith into being.” Faith isn’t static or private; it grows as it’s named, shared, and reflected on. She writes, “When we fail to give students opportunities to testify, we rob them of a means of grace.” We’ve emphasized storytelling and testimony during our mission-trip prep and reports, but reading this made me realize it is not emphasized in the rest of our ministry rhythm.
What stands out most is her insistence that testimony isn’t performance, it’s participation. “Testimony reminds us that faith is not something we possess, but something we practice.” It’s about helping students see where God is at work in their lives and giving them language to name it.
Drury’s research and stories make a convincing argument that youth ministry must be more intentional about creating spaces for testimony, whether through small group sharing, worship reflections, or mentoring conversations. Saying Is Believing isn’t just an academic treatise; it’s a challenge to reimagine ministry around the formative power of speaking faith aloud. Her book left me inspired to help our students find their voice and, in doing so, discover a deeper faith. Definitely a great read for those working with young people!
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