Using Storytelling in Ministry
Written By: Bob Sartoris
05/11/2009
Everyone loves a good story, and GNPI strives to tell the story of Christ in ways that connect with people in their own culture. For some, storytelling is an extremely powerful form of communication.
This is especially true in China, where it is not easy to openly profess to be a Christian. Doing so makes one vulnerable to the whims of the government who at times is very harsh toward believers. The result is that there are many believers who fear that participating in church worship or other activities may be dangerous. In other words, they believe but don’t openly practice their faith.
I met David (his Western name) in China last month. David is not an outwardly showy Christian. But he is a believer. David is also a storyteller. His dramatic presentations of the stories of various Chinese heroes and public figures makes him an actor in high demand among schools and for small social gatherings. David learned his craft from a couple of master storytellers, including the well-known and respected Madam Tai. She is the one who encouraged David to explore storytelling from many different sources. With this advice, David turned to the Bible.
When challenged by Madam Tai, he immediately thought of the famous Old Testament character whose name he shares, King David. Using the story of his encounter with the giant Goliath, David perfected the dramatic presentation using voices and facial expressions that help to tell the story. Needless to say, it was a very impressive performance.
Through the art of storytelling, David has learned to use this presentation style to subtly introduce the Christian God to Chinese audiences. GNPI is hoping to find and work with more people like David who have learned subtle yet innovative approaches of sharing the gospel to the people of China. Our hope is to help these Christians to move from simple ‘believers’ to ‘doers’ for the Kingdom!
