Telling the Gospel Through Story: Evangelism that keeps hearers wanting more
My second published work of non-fiction, ‘Telling the Gospel Through Story’ was released in May, 2012 and published by Intervarsity Press, US.
The story behind the writing of this can be read here.
It was voted 2013 Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year in Evangelism
Paul Cedar comments on Outreach Magazine’s choice: “Christine Dillon has learned the art of storytelling in the trenches of both Western and non-Western ministry contexts. She believes all of us can learn to share the Good News of Jesus Christ effectively through storytelling. This wonderful ‘how to’ book is not merely a brief introduction to storytelling, but is an in-depth biblical and practical study of this important subject. Regardless of your present approach to evangelism, you will find this book to be a significant help as you have the opportunity to introduce others to Jesus Christ.” [From OutreachMagazine.com, March/April 2013 issue]
Back cover of ‘Telling the Gospel Through Story’
Everybody loves a good story.
In an age when prepackaged gospel formulations leave people cold, well-told Bible stories can be used powerfully by God to touch people’s hearts and draw them to himself.
After ministry in both Western and non-Western contexts, Christine Dillon has discovered that Bible storying is far more effective than most other forms of apologetics or evangelistic presentations. In fact, non-Christians actually enjoyed storying and kept coming back for more. Storying provides solid biblical foundations so listeners can understand, apply and respond to the gospel. Then they can go on to fruitful maturity in God’s service.
This book includes practical guidance on how shape a story, how to do evangelism through storying and how to lead Bible discussions. With particular insights for trainers and those working in cross-cultural contexts, this guide provides you with concrete steps for sharing the Story that everyone needs to hear.
Storytelling website
Facebook: ‘Storying the Scriptures’ – you need to ask permission to ‘join’ this private group
Reviews
Christianity Today – “Dillon’s method seeks, as all methods of evangelism should, to understand a hearer’s worldview. She shapes her telling of the biblical story of redemption in a way that listeners will grasp and remember. She builds narrative richly and robustly without compromise. Furthermore, she understands how to get past the barriers and preconceptions of her hearers.” [Read more at ChristianityToday.com]
“Christine has given us a most welcome introduction and primer in her book Telling the Gospel Through Story. While her context is cross-cultural, she makes a strong case for pastors and evangelists everywhere to understand the importance of, and the ways and means to share, biblical narratives. This book will be helpful in all gospel preaching and homiletics in general.”
— Lon Allison, executive director, Billy Graham Center, Wheaton College
“Human beings make sense of our lives through stories. Yet all too often when it comes to evangelism, Christians offer some abstract theological propositions for people to agree with or not, rather than inviting them to enter the Story the Bible is narrating. Christine Dillon calls us to recapture the beauty, power and mystery of storying the gospel, and does so with the wisdom of a practitioner.”
— Sean Gladding, author of The Story of God, the Story of Us
Outline
Introduction: The Power of Story
Part One: Foundations
1. Why Storying?
2. Learning from Biblical Models
Part Two: Preparing a Basic Story Set
3. Choosing Suitable Stories
4. Preparing Stories from the Biblical Text
Part Three: Sow and Tell: Getting Out and Using Storying
5. Getting Started
6. Leading Discussion: The Why and the How
7. Discussion Dynamics: More Hints
Part Four: Pass it On: Training Others
8. The Basics
9. Motivating Trainees
Part Five: Adapting for Specific Contexts
10. Evangelistic Storying with Different Audiences
11. Storying for Christian Teaching
Epilogue
Appendices:
A: Extra Discussion Questions
B: Different Storying Methods
C: Training Checklist
D: Sample Stories
Where can I buy ‘Telling the Gospel Through Story’?
* Kobo
- Amazon International
- Intervarsity Press, USA, 2012
- Available in print and Kindle
- Book Depository, Koorong (Australia),
- Thanks for your review in any of above places and Goodreads