A Taiwanese lady learns to tell stories – again!
I learned how to tell Bible stories some years ago but because I feared rejection I wasn’t willing to use what I had learned. However, when “Telling the Gospel Through Story” came out in Chinese I attended the book launch seminar. I was moved to hear all the stories about how powerful storytelling can be. I decided to try again.
Just at that time there was a new seeker in our small group. Every time we shared in the group based on what we’d heard in the Sunday service, she didn’t have anything to share because there was so much she hadn’t understood.
I decided to try the story method but I was still worried that the believers in the group would be bored. But I didn’t expect God to do amazing things.
After the first story, the seeker immediately started to share and participate. She said, “The seventh day of creation was good because people need rest.” For the first time she prayed based on what she had learned. Now there was a newly baptized believer in the group who never read the Bible properly. She’d just flip it open here and there. However, once she’d heard the story she had the courage to ask some of her questions and express her doubts. This allowed her to realize that she wanted to know more about God.
There was also a lady in the group who’d been a believer for a long time. She responded by saying, “I’ve never read the Bible like this and I’ve suddenly realized that there are some things I that God says that I’ve never paid attention to before.” We have now done three stories. Everyone in the group is more and more interested and want to continue this method.
Please pray for the more than 800 people who attended the 2 hour book launch seminars. That they would have the courage to use what they learned and persist. It is so easy to listen and enjoy and never use storytelling. Who have you been telling stories to? Who could you start telling stories to?