Level 2 — Elementary (CEFR: A2)
Unit 5 — Verb Group 1: -AR Verbs
Missionary Application — 2-Minute Oral Testimony
Purpose
The Missionary Application is the Unit 5 capstone. It moves you from controlled lab exercises into personal, spontaneous ministry speech — specifically the kind of speech you will use in real mission contexts.
A missionary who can give a personal testimony in Spanish is equipped for one of the most common ministry moments there is: introducing yourself, sharing what God has done in your life, and establishing spiritual credibility with a new community. This testimony also serves as an immediate, practical application of everything Unit 5 has taught — every tense, every key verb, deployed in real speech about your own life.
The skill this exercises: spontaneous production. You are not translating a pre-written English script. You are constructing the testimony in Spanish from your own experience, using the grammar and vocabulary you have built. This is the closest thing to live interpretation that Unit 2 offers.
The Four-Part Structure
Every oral testimony follows the same four-part shape. This is not a rigid formula — it is a framework that gives you the structure to move through all six tenses naturally.
Part 1: Your Calling — Preterite
What to cover: What happened? When did God call you? What specific event, encounter, or moment marked your calling to ministry? What did you decide?
Why preterite: these are completed, specific past events. Something happened. A decision was made. A moment occurred.
Target tense forms: llegué, oré, decidí, entregué, sentí, escuché, llamó, cambió
Sample (do not memorize — adapt to your own story):
Dios me llamó al ministerio hace cinco años. Estaba en un servicio de oración cuando escuché Su voz con claridad. En ese momento, entregué mi vida completamente al Señor. Decidí dejar mi trabajo y prepararme para servir en América Latina.
Your Part 1 (minimum 30 seconds, 3+ preterite -AR verb forms):
Write a draft here, then speak it from memory:
Part 2: Your Previous Life — Imperfect
What to cover: What were you doing before God called you? What was your life like? What did you do regularly? What were you searching for?
Why imperfect: these are habitual, ongoing, or background states from your past — not one-time events but patterns and conditions.
Target tense forms: trabajaba, buscaba, vivía, oraba, pensaba, pasaba, ignoraba
Sample:
Antes de ese momento, trabajaba en una empresa de tecnología. Ganaba buen dinero pero buscaba algo más. Oraba de vez en cuando, pero no con profundidad. Los domingos a veces asistía a la iglesia, pero no prestaba mucha atención. Pensaba que podía manejar mi vida solo.
Your Part 2 (minimum 20 seconds, 3+ imperfect -AR verb forms):
Write a draft here, then speak it from memory:
Part 3: Your Current Ministry — Present Tense and Present Perfect
What to cover: What are you doing now? What has God already done through you in this ministry? What has changed?
Why present + present perfect: the present describes what is currently happening; the present perfect describes what has happened recently with current relevance.
Target tense forms:
- Present: predico, enseño, trabajo, viajo, sirvo, comparto, colaboro
- Present perfect: he viajado, he predicado, hemos orado, han respondido, ha crecido
Sample:
Ahora, trabajo con una organización misionera en Guatemala. Enseño la Biblia en comunidades rurales y entreno a líderes locales. Este año, he viajado a seis pueblos diferentes. Hemos plantado tres nuevas congregaciones. Muchas familias han respondido al evangelio. Ha sido un trabajo difícil, pero Dios ha provisto todo lo que necesitamos.
Your Part 3 (minimum 25 seconds, 2+ present forms and 2+ present perfect forms):
Write a draft here, then speak it from memory:
Part 4: Your Plans — Near Future and Simple Future
What to cover: Where is God taking you? What are you planning? What do you believe God will do?
Why near future + simple future: near future (voy a) for concrete, imminent plans; simple future (-é/-á endings) for promises, declarations, and what God will do.
Target tense forms:
- Near future: voy a predicar, vamos a visitar, va a crecer, voy a regresar
- Simple future: predicaré, trabajaré, Dios proveerá, Su reino llegará
Sample:
El próximo mes, voy a regresar a Estados Unidos para recaudar fondos y compartir lo que Dios está haciendo. Luego, vamos a lanzar un programa de discipulado en cinco comunidades nuevas. Creo que Dios va a hacer algo extraordinario en esta región. Trabajaré aquí mientras Él me llame a quedarme. Predicaré este evangelio hasta que Él regrese.
Your Part 4 (minimum 25 seconds, 2+ near future forms and 2+ simple future forms):
Write a draft here, then speak it from memory:
Recording Requirements
When your four parts are drafted and practiced, record the full 2-minute testimony as a single uninterrupted recording.
Technical requirements:
- Record on a smartphone or any device with a microphone
- Speak clearly at a natural pace — not reading from notes, not rushing
- Minimum 90 seconds; target 2 minutes; maximum 3 minutes
- Do not stop and restart — record through any hesitations (they are part of the evaluation data)
Tense requirements (minimum counts):
- 4 distinct preterite -AR verb forms
- 3 distinct imperfect -AR verb forms
- 2 present perfect forms (haber + -ado)
- 3 near future constructions (ir + a + infinitive)
- 2 simple future -AR forms
Native Speaker Evaluation
Have a native speaker (or an advanced Spanish speaker) listen to your recording and evaluate it using the form below. This can be:
- A Spanish-speaking pastor or church member
- A language exchange partner
- A tutor from iTalki or Preply (see Essential Reference Tools)
- A fellow missionary who is a native speaker
Evaluator form (share this with them):
Testimony Evaluation — Unit 5 Spanish
Please listen to the recording and answer each question honestly. The goal is accurate feedback, not encouragement.
Verb tenses:
- Were the past tense verbs (preterite/past) generally correct? (Circle one) YES / MOSTLY / NO
- Were the background/habitual verbs (used to, was doing) generally correct? YES / MOSTLY / NO
- Were the “have done” forms (present perfect) generally correct? YES / MOSTLY / NO
- Were the future expressions generally correct? YES / MOSTLY / NO
Specific errors (list any verb forms that were wrong or unnatural):
Pronunciation: 5. Was the pronunciation generally understandable? YES / MOSTLY / NO 6. Any specific sounds that were consistently off?
Naturalness: 7. Did the testimony flow naturally, or did it sound like translated English? NATURAL / SOMEWHAT NATURAL / TRANSLATED-SOUNDING 8. Any phrases that sounded unnatural or awkward?
Overall: 9. Did you understand the full testimony? YES / MOSTLY / NO 10. What one thing would most improve the speaker’s Spanish in this recording?
Thank you for evaluating this testimony.
Self-Evaluation (Complete Before Receiving Evaluator Feedback)
Listen to your own recording and complete this before hearing the evaluator’s responses.
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Preterite accuracy: List each preterite -AR form you used. Were they all correctly formed?
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Imperfect accuracy: List each imperfect -AR form you used. Were they correctly formed?
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Present perfect: Did you use he/hemos + -ado correctly? List each instance.
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Near future: Did each ir + a + infinitive construction work correctly?
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Simple future: Did the infinitive + ending pattern work correctly for each simple future?
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Hesitations: At what moments did you hesitate? What caused the hesitation — a tense decision, a vocabulary gap, or a pronunciation uncertainty?
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Overall assessment: On a scale of 1–10, how accurately did your recording communicate your testimony?
Example Testimony: Complete Model
The following is a complete 2-minute model testimony from a fictional missionary. Read it through once, then use it only as a structural model — do not memorize it as your own.
Buenos días. Me llamo David, y soy misionero de los Estados Unidos.
Dios me llamó al ministerio hace siete años. Asistí a una conferencia sobre misiones en mi iglesia, y cuando el predicador habló sobre América Latina, algo en mi corazón se encendió. Esa noche, oré por primera vez con verdadera intensidad. Regresé a casa diferente. Unos meses después, mi esposa y yo decidimos responder al llamado.
Antes de ese momento, trabajaba como maestro en una escuela secundaria. Disfrutaba mi trabajo, pero buscaba algo más profundo. Los fines de semana, a veces ayudaba en la iglesia, pero mi enfoque estaba en mi carrera. Pensaba que el ministerio era para otras personas, no para mí.
Ahora, trabajo en Colombia con un equipo de cinco misioneros. Enseñamos la Biblia en comunidades rurales y entrenamos a pastores locales. Este año, hemos visitado veinte comunidades diferentes. Hemos predicado el evangelio a cientos de personas. Muchas familias han comenzado a seguir a Cristo. Ha sido el trabajo más difícil y más hermoso de mi vida.
El próximo año, vamos a lanzar una escuela de liderazgo para jóvenes pastores. Vamos a enseñar en cuatro regiones nuevas. Creo que Dios va a hacer algo extraordinario. Trabajaré en Colombia mientras Él me dirija. Predicaré este evangelio hasta que no pueda más. Su Palabra no regresará vacía — de eso estoy seguro.
Tense inventory in this model:
| Form used | Tense | Count |
|---|---|---|
| llamó, asistí, habló, encendió, oré, regresé, decidimos | Preterite | 7 |
| trabajaba, disfrutaba, buscaba, ayudaba, pensaba | Imperfect | 5 |
| hemos visitado, hemos predicado, han comenzado, ha sido | Present perfect | 4 |
| vamos a lanzar, vamos a enseñar, va a hacer | Near future | 3 |
| trabajaré, predicaré, regresará | Simple future | 3 |
After Completing This Application
Once you have:
- Recorded your 2-minute testimony
- Received native speaker evaluation
- Completed your self-evaluation
- Made corrections based on the feedback
…you have completed all Unit 5 requirements and are ready to begin Unit 6.
Before moving on, log the evaluator’s responses. The specific errors they identified are your highest-priority practice items as you enter Unit 6. Carry those targets forward.
See also: Interpretation Lab, Lesson 14 — Full Tense Practice: -AR Verbs, Essential Reference Tools