How Lives are Changed
The lives of those who gain the skills of STS are forever impacted.
We offer here just a few of the results STS produces in those who learn and share Bible stories.
Simply The Story:
- Equips people for natural witnessing.
- Enhances personal devotions.
- Empowers the unsure. Women, youth, aged, non-literates, and many others who never realized that they have God given abilities to understand deep biblical truths, can comfortably speak and lead others.
- Develops awareness of others.
- Teaches how to dig deeply into the Word.
- Raises interest in listeners according to reports from seasoned teachers.
- Shifts focus. Teachers are not the center; God’s Word becomes the focus.
- Generates accountability in both teachers and in listeners.
- Quietly, in a non-confrontational way, brings non-biblical beliefs to light.
- Enables people to carry God’s Word in their heart pockets.
- Helps storytellers to be affected by Scripture, allowing them to teach what they themselves have experienced.
- Causes meditation on the Word to occur naturally—and often.
- Makes sought-after outcomes (witnessing, salvations, church plants, godly living) become spontaneous and natural.
- Promotes understanding of Bible stories, which touches hearts; knowledge and feelings converge.
Testimonies Reflecting Some of These 14 Listed Results
The stories of God’s Word do impact lives. We can talk theory and look at data, all meaningful pursuits. But how lives are impacted is the true measurement of success.
The first three testimonies are responses from immigrants in the USA who came from three different countries and three different religious backgrounds. They give a peek into the quick and dynamic power of God’s Word delivered as He gave it to us.
Couldn’t Sleep
One Hispanic pastor, who has influence over more than 1,000 pastors, told of sleeping only three hours the night he returned home from an STS workshop because of the impact. He shared, "As a pastor for 30 years, I knew something was missing.
You said to let the story speak. We have not been doing that. I tried it. The congregation loved it. They were on the edge of their seats with interest. Afterwards they said it was the best teaching they had ever heard."
Story: Quick & Powerful!
A man of Middle Eastern background attended an STS workshop. Although he is a recognized expert on reaching Muslims, even he discovered something new about the power of stories. He came as a reluctant attendee to STS, but left as a person rethinking his strategies.
He decided to try some of the God's Story languages on video. A few weeks later he hosted his weekly guests, five Kurdish Sorani people, all in the same family. This Christian had been on the patient slow track of friendship evangelism, and had planned to use his expertise as a former Muslim to reach these Muslims.
He decided to put the Kurdish God's Story on the TV.
After twelve minutes the guests said, "Turn it off!" Then they explained, "We knew what we were taught in Islam was not true, but we did not know what WAS true. We did not understand Christianity until now. We understand now. This is what we want to believe."
Guess What?
An attendee from Thailand called our STS office a week after the workshop. "Guess what? I told a story Saturday at our men's Bible study. They loved it! When we discussed the questions, I stayed in the story like we did in the workshop, and we learned more out of that one story than we ever knew was in there."
The diverse reports below came from just one workshop in Nepal.
"I do not go to conferences but came here and didn't know why. Now I see. The Bible is opened up to me and I can now share with others."
"When I heard the statistics of literacy in the USA, I suddenly realized that, if it is that bad in the USA, then here in Nepal is much lower. I must use this oral strategy to reach the lost."
"When I saw this big women up front give such interesting action to the story, I said to myself, If she can do this, then why can't I?"
"I am in charge of 25 women who go out and evangelize women who are not literate. I am going to teach them all to tell the stories in this way."
"My pastor told me to go to this conference. I said to myself, Go to a 3
day conference to learn to tell stories? That is crazy! How long does it
take to tell a story? Now after three days, I see the time went so fast I
didn't even notice it because I was interested the whole time."
"I went home the first day and told a story to my children and they said,
'Mommy, do this all the time!' "
Find Treasure
Find treasure chests full of these kinds of reports on Worldwide, Prayer & Praise Reports and My Best Day Ever
For testimonies specific to your area of interest, check out Uses & Users
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STS-What & Why