-- consult several translations for alternate word choices. -- repeat before and after the story that this is a "true story from God's Word." Frances Woodward of Pearl, Miss., who attended a workshop led by Hall, said she planned to use the process with children and her grandchildren. "Children love to act out," Woodward said. But for her personally, she said, studying the passage to find its simple meaning "sharpened the facts for me." Hall assured the group that "everybody in here can learn to tell a good story." About 40 participants practiced and modeled the process during breakout sessions and crafted their own stories to share. In the general session, Hall shared a recent success story from a Bible storying training event last year in southern Asia. One of her colleagues, who helped with the training, met a young woman whose family had been radically changed. "The woman said, 'There were some people from my village who went to a training and they learned how to tell Bible stories. And they came and they told the story for me and my family. Now I am a believer and so is my family. All of us believe in Jesus,'" Hall recounted. She added that more than 20 people in that village have been baptized as a result of chronological Bible storying. "Chronological Bible storying is a powerful tool," Hall said. "God gave it to us. He gave us a book full of stories. And all we have to do is learn to use them." Don Graham is the International Mission Board's senior writer; Barbara Denman is the Florida Baptist Convention's director of communication. Chronological Bible storying expert Anita Hall is available to do training for churches and groups. She can be contacted through the International Mission Board at 1-800-999-3113 or www.imb.org. Copyright (c) 2012 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press www.BPNews.net |