Stories – Part Five – Sharing Stories
CommunicationSo let’s review. This series on telling stories started with four blog posts.
- “Telling a Different Story“ and then moved into
- “Normalizing the Conversation“ before discussing
- “Finding Stories of Ministry Impact“ and
- “Finding Stories of Generosity“
As we near the end of this series, my guess is that you have one big question: How, exactly, do we share the stories we collect? Here are a few can’t-miss methods:
Live, First-Person Narrative
Someone sharing his or her own story during a worship service or ministry event can be incredibly powerful – if the person is a compelling communicator.
While he or she doesn’t have to be a professional teacher or speaker, keep in mind that umms, uhhs, and extreme nervousness will detract from the power of the story.
If a live presentation is your only option, consider doing an interview rather than a “testimony.”
Interviews can reduce nerves simply by having a second person up front. They also help focus the story and reduce rambling.
Second-Person Narrative
Stories don’t have to be lengthy, beginning-middle-end novellas. Well-placed anecdotes inside your messages can be quite effective, as can mini-stories shared prior to the offering.
Via Video
Video storytelling is almost always more effective than live presentations, especially if you’re able to include “b-roll” relating to the story. Visual storytelling taps into our emotions and emotion sparks action.
On Your Website
Capturing stories on video allows them to live beyond the worship service or ministry event, exponentially increasing their reach and impact. Stories can be shared in a special section specifically reserved for that purpose, or they can be spread across the site.
An excellent example of using the web to share stories includes Cross Timbers Church.
Stories on your church’s online giving page can be particularly inspiring, as Community Christian Church and Elevation Church prove.
Through Social Media
We’ve all heard about “viral videos.” What might happen if your church family could easily share stories of generosity through their social networks?
Now it’s your turn. What story ideas do you have? How do you share them? What’s happened as a result?
About Rusty Lewis
As a church leader, there’s nothing more frustrating than not having the funding to do what God’s calling you to do. But when you think about trying to address that problem, you feel overwhelmed, you dread the potential pushback from your congregation, and you’re not sure where to turn for help. Over the last 18 years, I’ve helped more than 120 churches close the gap between their current financial reality and what they need to move forward in ministry.