The Use of Story in Evangelism and Discipleship

Her daughter was tugging on her sleeve, but Susanna was lost in thought. Her eyes followed the Master as he got out of the boat and huddled with the twelve, but her mind was still on the story he had just told the crowd.

The tugging continued.

“Mamá, Mamá!” Joanna got her mother’s attention.

“Yes, Joana, what is it, dear One?”

“Why did he throw seed in the bad places? Didn’t he know it wouldn’t grow there?” Joanna asked her mother innocently.

“What, Honey?” her mother replied.

“Why did the Farmer throw seed on the pathway, and in the rocks, and in the thorns? Seeds don’t grow there. Didn’t the farmer know that?”

“Well yes, I suppose he did. But I’m not sure that the farmer meant to throw seed in the pathway, or the rocks, or even in the thorns. You see, the farmer had come out some time before and tilled his farmland,” Susanna explained to her daughter.

“Tilled?” Joanna asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“Yes, Sweetie, “tilled” means the farmer prepared the soil. He went out to his farmland—probably something like this rectangle of land right there—and he dug it up, turned it over, picked up the stones that were in the field and threw them off to the side. He got his land all ready to receive the seed.”

As Susanna spoke, it hit her. Could this be the lesson—at least part of it—that the Master was trying to teach with this story of the Sower? She glanced back to the shore, pensively. The Master and the Twelve were finishing their meeting.

“Mamá!”

Startled, Susanna turned back to her daughter. “I’m sorry, dear. The farmer prepared his field at least the day before. Then, he came out to his prepared field there (gesturing to the rectangle) and started to sow the seed. He threw it onto the field and as he went along—wanting to be sure to get seed in every corner of his field—he overthrew some of the seed. It landed in the rocks he piled up at the edge of his field. Some of it landed in the thorns just outside his beautifully prepared field. And some landed in the pathway, just like this one that people use to walk by farmland.

Joanna tugged again on her mother’s sleeve. She turned to her smiling. She saw her daughter wide- eyed looking just above her. Joanna pointed.

Susanna turned to see the Master right behind her, listening. She stood quickly, blushing. “I’m sorry, Master.”

He simply gave her an affirming nod, smiled warmly, and led his disciples to their next appointment.

The mother and daughter watched Him walk down the road, talking with His followers. When they were out of sight around the bend in the road, Susanna commented, half to her daughter, half to herself, “The Master’s stories are always so fascinating, but I don’t always understand. Your question helped me understand what I think is the point to this one: Just

as the soil needs to be prepared for seed to grow, so our hearts need to be prepared to receive the word of God so it will produce fruit in our lives. Come on, I’ll race you home!”

What did you think of that story? Can you imagine telling it as
you open a discipleship class session or as you start a message
in church? Every time I have told that story, you could hear a
pin drop as people sat on the edge of their seats, eyes wide
with anticipation. There is something about a story that gets
people’s attention and gets to their hearts. Why is that? I
believe it has to do with the way God made us. Let’s look at
four examples of using story in evangelism and discipleship (teaching).

Some Biblical Examples

Stop and think for a minute. Can you come up with personalities in the Bible who used story in their teaching in both the Old and New Testaments? After you think of a few, ask yourself the question: “What was the desired outcome?”

How did you do? I believe there could be many, but we will touch on just three. Who is the most conspicuous example in the Bible? Everyone at once: Jesus! That’s right. And we all would cite the parables as the most obvious teaching stories of all.

But another example in the New Testament is Stephen. He didn’t have a long ministry, however he did tell a long story that became famous. But was he successful? You are probably saying, “You cite Stephen as an example of using story in evangelism and you’re not going to get a lot of followers!” Maybe, but we’ll touch on his success in just a moment.

First, let’s go to the Old Testament. Do we have any examples of story in teaching (discipleship) there? One stands out: Nathan. He told King David a nice little story about a man and his lamb, didn’t he? And he got a response. That leads us to the next question:

What was the desired outcome? In each of these instances in the Bible (Jesus with His parables, Stephen with his long story, and Nathan with his short story) what were they looking for in their hearers? As I have asked that question on several continents, two one-word responses come back more than any other: change and emotion.

I tend to agree. In each instance, the story-teller is looking for change (repentance) in the lives of the hearers and he probably is trying to get the emotions of the hearer involved as well. Whether the second one is a stated goal or not, it becomes obvious very quickly that emotion is evoked.

Why are the parables so popular even today? They are stories to which people can relate. Why did Stephen get stoned? Because he told his story and told his hearers they were just like their fathers—

Just as the soil needs to be prepared for seed to grow, so our hearts need to be prepared to receive the word of God so it will produce fruit in our lives.

and they proved it by killing him. (By the way, he may not have been successful by our standards, but Jesus gave him a standing ovation!) Why was Nathan successful in encouraging repentance from David? He told a story to which David could relate (and boy, did he relate!) and then said “You are the man.”)

These stories evoked emotion and called for change. What are we looking for in our evangelism and discipleship, whether we are sharing one-on-one or with a group? What the profs taught me in Bible College was that we teach and preach for change. Stories can help. They did for Jesus, Stephen, and Nathan.

Consider using stories in your evangelism and discipleship. Start with your faith story. Maybe tell a story of another person with whom you have shared who responded positively to the gospel. Think of some other possibilities.

In discussing the use of story in evangelism and discipleship, we have cited biblical examples (Jesus, Stephen, and Nathan). Another example comes from a growing movement in missions called the International Orality Network (ION).

The Example of the International Orality Network (ION)

These leaders from mission organizations, training schools, and other ministry organizations encourage the telling of Bible stories. They differentiate (and rightly so) between Bible story teaching and Bible story telling. When we teach the Bible we normally seek to analyze, summarize, make conclusions, and apply the story to the lives of our students. The Orality Network encourages the telling of the story and letting the story do the work. That doesn’t mean we don’t ask questions. Quite the opposite is true as we will show below. However,

emphasis is on the story itself and allowing students to make the conclusions and applications themselves.

After telling a Bible story, ION proponents (and others) will ask at least four or five questions like the ones listed below to get learners interacting with the story and with each other. Not only do the questions help the hearers apply the story to their lives, but because many times the people are oral learners (they don’t read or write), the interaction and repetition of the story helps them to truly learn the story so it can be told again; passed on to others.

Simply tell the story (after having studied and practiced it) and ask:

“What did you like about that story?”
“What didn’t you like?” or “What bothered you about that story?” “What did you learn about God?”
“What did you learn about yourself?” etc.

In oral cultures this is an excellent way to evangelize and disciple especially in the early stages in any given location before literacy training takes place, because people can’t read the Bible or any other book. However, many are finding this methodology to be effective in secondary oral learning situations as well. Secondary oral learners are those who know how to read and write (They may even have college degrees!), but they choose to learn orally now. Many people today don’t read another book after they graduate from college.

In oral cultures telling Bible stories is an excellent way to evangelize and disciple especially in the early stages in any given location before literacy training takes place, because people can’t read.

The Story of Hope is a great tool you can use to tell the Bible’s story. Related resources can also help:

Visuals (laminated or non-laminated 10” x 12” picture cards (Use with small groups.)
Cell phone images (Use on a bus, plane—anywhere you are with an individual.) ChronoBridge Cards (Use with an individual or small group to tell abbreviated stories.)
The Story of Hope powerpoint (Use in a larger group with computer and/or video projector.

(These and other resources can be found at http://www.goodsoil.com/resources)
Telling Bible stories and asking questions can be an effective way to evangelize and disciple. Try it!