The Art of Christian Storytelling

 

The Master Storyteller

It is no accident that Jesus so often taught by telling stories. Parables are a powerful tool in witnessing to others. I'm pretty much a shut-in right now, so I watch a lot of live-streamed church services on Sabbath mornings. A majority of these stories are told by women. Many of them by older retired teachers and others comfortable with being up front. My church in Tyler, Texas has been bringing young men as well as women up front to do children's stories. Men are stepping up even more often. One of my favorite of our gang of storytellers was my son, Micah. Six foot four, close to 300 pounds, he knew how to tell a story and the kids loved him. 

Too often our churches do not train and nurture storytellers. Often it's whoever they can make guilty enough not to turn down an invitation to tell stories up front. Many churches even have a rocker up on stage in deference to our older storytellers so they couldn't plead physical disability to get out of telling the children's story. You have to hand it to those volunteers who give of themselves to our youngest members, but children's story is potentially one of the most powerful parts of the church service, and if you don't attend to it by building up the skills of your storytellers, you miss that blessing.

I'd like to offer them some help to better engage that wriggling mass of children who's attention they try to hold.  So, I'm planning to write a free e-book for people who tell the children's story in church. Greater storytellers than I have preceded me. There's a wonderful out-of-print book by Charles Spalding and Eric B. Hare called Christian Storytelling. It has a Kindle e-book version available on Amazon .In my book I want to deal specifically with how to do the children's story at church before the sermon. This sort of story has become a standard in many many churches, and it's a wonderful witnessing tool.

Thanks to Youtube and Facebook live streaming, many many churches put services online for members who are away on are homebound, disabled or simply drifted away from the church. My wife and I attend our old church back in Texas, because even though we are 3000 miles away, we get a glimpse of our grandson when he gets up front for the children's story. Our hearts are bound to that church in large part because of that brief story and the children sitting in a circle there at the front of the church. 

The principles taught by Spalding and Hare are essential, but there are some things you can do specific to upfront storytelling in church as opposed to campfires and sabbath/Sunday schools. One of the most valuable was Eric B. Hare's advice to tell your story to the youngest members of the group of children. A story for 4 year olds will hold the attention of the 10 year-olds, while a story for the teens will quickly lose the preschool kids. So often we see storytellers talking over the heads of the little ones as they squirm and poke each other. If you've ever heard the old records Eric B. Hare made of his stories, you see a master at work.  I've memorized his stories and made them my own and held the rapt attention of a gang of 2 to 12 year olds to the end of the story. The art of storytelling CAN be taught.

If you are reading this and you have some sage advice to impart to younger storytellers; if you have any stories or things that worked for you as a storyteller, I would love for you to message me and tell me all about it. I thoroughly believe that children are the future of the church and the weekly worship service children's story is the first step toward engaging our young people as participants in worship and outreach. I have witnessed a church transformed by determined effort by parents and grandparents to bring their children forward and up front. 

 

One of the best pastors I ever had was Ron Halvorsen. Ron filled the church week after week and even had 1200 people coming to prayer meetings on Wednesday. He got his hands on a fleet of yellow school buses and went out into the community and rural areas picking up children and old people to come to church. I went along on the buses and played guitar and we rolled out over the county singing at the top of our lungs, five year-olds to 95 year-olds.Storytelling was his secret though. Not only was Ron a gifted storyteller, he knew how to impart that skill to others.

We taught the teens in the church how to tell stories using great storytelling principles and filled up youth meetings and children's services and taught a generation how to witness through storytelling. Turns out the kids were gifted, creative and innovative and the church annex overflowed with kids every Wednesday night.

So if you have a contribution to make to the art and science of Christian storytelling, please drop me a note on Facebook Messenger or email me at twayneking@gmail.com. Meanwhile, if you are telling stories already, click on the link to the Spalding & Hare book "Christian Storytelling." It will transform your storytelling style.

© 2022 by Tom King