StoryRunners

Jesus told His followers to keep teaching others.

Today, leaders like Solomon are doing exactly that. As people hear God's story, they begin sharing it with others.

And in places where few have heard the good news of Jesus, new story groups are beginning to form.

Learn more about StoryRunners at storyrunners.org.

The World Cup brings people together from every nation.

Our free World Cup Storytelling Kit can help you start meaningful spiritual conversations through a Bible story.

Learn a story. Tell a story. Share the Gospel.

English: https://bit.ly/worldcupkit-english
Spanish: https://bit.ly/worldcupkit-spanish

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗥𝗨𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗣𝗘𝗢𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥

Not long after helping produce oral Bible stories in the Kaleb* language, Solomon* had already started three story groups.

One of those groups is made up entirely of people who are not believers … yet.

And now Solomon hopes to plant a church in his home village — a place where there are currently no believers.

That small word, “yet,” carries so much hope.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗔 𝗩𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗚𝗘

In one recent School of Storying in Ethiopia, local participants worked together to produce 37 oral Bible stories and four Bible story songs in the Kaleb language.

The stories were biblically faithful, easy to internalize and natural to retell within the local culture.

But the stories were never meant to stay in the workshop.

They were meant to be shared in homes, conversations, story groups and villages where many people are still waiting to hear the good news of Jesus.

𝗝𝗘𝗦𝗨𝗦 𝗧𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗞𝗘𝗘𝗣 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗦

In Matthew 28:20, Jesus said:

“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

That is what we are seeing through leaders like Solomon.

People hear the good news of Jesus.

Then they begin sharing it with others.

And over time, more people begin hearing God’s story for the first time.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗢𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡

After the School of Storying, local ministry practitioners received additional training to use the oral Bible stories for evangelism, discipleship and church planting.

Now those same leaders are continuing the work in their own communities.

In places where there are currently no believers, new story groups are beginning to gather around God’s story.

And leaders are preparing to plant new churches in their communities.

𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬

Your prayers and partnership help equip local believers to faithfully share God’s Word in places where many people are still waiting to hear.

And as those believers continue teaching others, more communities are hearing the good news of Jesus.

If you’d like to learn more about School of Storying, you can visit:

https://www.storyrunners.org/sos/

𝗔 𝗦𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

Would you pray for leaders like Solomon as they share God’s story in places where there are few or no believers?

Would you pray for new story groups forming through these oral Bible stories?

And would you pray for leaders preparing to plant churches in communities that are still waiting to hear the gospel?

There are still places where people are waiting to hear the good news of Jesus.

And through faithful believers sharing God’s story, the good news is beginning to reach them.

*Names changed for security purposes.*

Sometimes the first step toward hope begins with hearing a story about Jesus in a way someone can truly understand.

And through that story, God begins changing a heart.

Explore The Promise—oral Bible stories from Creation to the Return of Jesus:

https://www.storyrunners.org/stories-v2/

For those waiting to hear God's story.

Aisha heard a Bible story in her own language.

What once felt distant began to feel personal.

And something in her heart began to change.

That is why oral Bible stories matter.

For the first time, the story of Jesus felt personal.

After hearing a Bible story in her own language, Aisha began to see the heart of God differently.

What once felt distant became personal.

That is one reason oral Bible stories matter.

They help people engage with God's Word in ways they can understand, internalize and share with others.

Isaiah 52:7 begins with a simple picture:

Someone bringing good news.

That is how God has always worked.

One person carries the message.
Another person hears.

And the good news keeps moving.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗥𝗨𝗡: “𝗜 𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗬 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧.”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I feel like something is changing my heart.”

Aisha* said it through tears after hearing a Bible story in her language about Jesus healing a woman who had suffered for years.

A traumatic event when she was 12 years old had left Aisha terrified of what would happen after she died. In the majority religion around her, many people live in fear of how God will judge them. To many, God feels distant.

But then she heard Jesus say in the story:

“Daughter, your faith has saved you — go in peace.”

And something in her heart began to change.

THE GOOD NEWS REACHED HER THROUGH A STORY

Isaiah 52:7 says:

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation…”

That good news reached Aisha through a Bible story in her own language.

Interested in this God she had never heard of, Aisha began attending a Bible story group with other college students.

The missionaries leading the group began sharing stories that StoryRunners had previously helped produce in the local language after they realized written gospel presentations were not connecting in the same way.

“When we engaged in natural conversation, it was very respectful and warm,” said Penny*, one of the missionaries. “But the moment I would bring forward a written tool … a wall would go up.”

Every week, students gathered in an unused classroom on campus to hear a Bible story in the Magi* language, learn the story and discuss what it meant.

THE STORY OF JESUS BECAME PERSONAL

“She thought it was so beautiful that this woman could touch Jesus and be freed,” Penny said. “It was bringing tears to her eyes.”

Through these stories, Aisha was beginning to see the heart of God differently.

For the first time, the story of Jesus felt personal.

SOMETIMES WE PLANT SEEDS AND TRUST GOD WITH THE GROWTH

After that last story group when Aisha shared that her heart was beginning to change, the team never saw her again.

Penny still thinks about her often and prays that she came to know Jesus and is now sharing God’s story with friends and family.

Later that same year, the team saw another college student place her trust in Jesus and begin sharing the gospel with her peers. Believers in her church started discipling her using oral Bible stories to help her grow in faith.

The Apostle Paul compared sharing the Gospel to planting and watering seeds:

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6).

In many of the places where StoryRunners serves, we may not always see the outcome right away.

But God is still at work.

GOD’S WORD IS STILL MOVING FROM PERSON TO PERSON

The stories produced years ago are still being shared throughout this region today with both people who read and people who do not.

New missionaries are even using the recordings to help learn the language.

And through these stories, God continues changing hearts from the inside out.

These stories change lives.

BECAUSE YOU ARE PART OF THIS STORY

Your prayers and partnership help more people hear God’s story in their own language for the very first time.

And in places where following Jesus can come with great cost, God’s Word is still reaching people through stories shared from person to person.

If you’d like to learn more, you can visit:

https://www.storyrunners.org/give/

A SIMPLE PRAYER

Would you pray for students and young adults throughout the Middle East who are hearing Bible stories for the first time?

Would you pray for missionaries faithfully sharing God’s Word, even when they may never see the results?

And would you pray for God to continue changing hearts from the inside out through His Word?

Sometimes the first step toward hope begins with hearing a story about Jesus in a way someone can truly understand.

And through that story, God begins changing a heart.

*Names changed for security purposes.*