Selling Through Story

One of the things our consultant told us about communicating is that we should sell ourselves through the art of telling our story.  Our story communicates who we are, what we believe and where we’re going in a powerful, personal way.  I loved the idea.  We have an awesome collective story to share as a church, and we each have a story to share in our own lives.

Our youth have awesome stories to share as well.  Tonight is one of my favorite nights of the year in Student Ministry.  Our 8th graders write a personal faith story based on Paul’s model in Acts 26.  The basic outline:

1. Tell what your life was like before Christ or how you were cared for if you’ve always known Christ.
2. Tell how you met Christ.  Maybe it’s your conversion story, or maybe it’s how you realized that Jesus was more than just a set of facts from the Bible.  It’s how you came to have a personal relationship with Jesus.
3. Challenge others to know Jesus in a similar way.

At this stage, most of the stories need some refining.  I make comments (sometimes LOTS) on their drafts and then I get to sit with each student 1 on 1 and talk about it.  It’s a wonderful glimpse into their heart as we get to talk and share together.  The culmination will be sharing their stories at our annual Confirmand Banquet on the Thursday before Confirmation.