Storying Session Elements
The following is a storying format that we’ve used with students many times. Ideally, it should be used in a time slot when you have at least two hours or more to meet. And this outline isn’t set in stone—there are many ways you can approach storying. What’s important is that you allow enough time so you’re not hurrying through the process. For specific ideas for each of these elements, go to the IDEAS section of this website!
1. Build COMMUNITY
Have a meal together, play a game, and connect relationally. Don’t underestimate the power of laughter and fun.
2. REVIEW Previous Stories
Review should be fast-paced and fun. Review is especially important if you’re doing storying in a weekly format. The goal in reviewing past stories is to help the group make connections between the stories and see how each story fits into a larger narrative. Spend additional time reviewing the story from the previous session to get everyone up to speed.
3. PREPARE for Imaginative Listening
Your group will come to each meeting with a certain level of personal distraction—tiredness, stress, hyperactivity, and so on. The storying process is very repetitive, and some students who are accustomed to constant stimulation from media and video games tend to lose focus easily. You’ll need to be intentional in helping them refocus every session and coaching them to be attentive listeners.
4. NARRATE the New Story
Your role is not just reading words off a page, but bringing those words to life. Storytelling is more like the work of an artist than that of a teacher. It’s less about explaining and more about exploring. Our role is to help each other participate in the stories of God. As we participate in these stories, they become our own—the gospel happens to us.
5. Help the Group REPLAY the New Story
Immediately after telling the story allow a minute or two for participants to reflect and journal. Have them write down what they saw and sensed as the story was being told. Then do a retelling activity. Retelling should focus on recounting key events and dialogue from the story, not necessarily a word-for-word restating. The key to retelling is variety. Try activities that will connect with different types of learners. Have fun and laugh together. This will help your group grow closer. Learn from your listeners.
6. DIALOGUE About the New Story
Dialogue time is the solidifying piece in the storying process. Dialogue is where connections are made, key truths emerge, and the story becomes “our” story. Dialogue time is the key to effective storying. Questions are used to direct the participants to discover personal insights from the stories. In the narratives we’ve provided, questions lead participants to focus on wondering (feelings), remembering (facts), and connecting (implications). In order to keep the group focused, a dialogue time always points to the story just told and its connection to the previous stories in the chronology.
7. CONNECT the Story to Our Own Stories
Storying connection time is necessary to help participants apply what they’re learning to real life. Plan time and activities that help participants process how they’re seeing God’s Story connect to their stories. You may want to break your group into groups of three for more in-depth discussion and prayer. Ask participants to process a specific connecting question, such as, “How does this story challenge or encourage you to live?” They may want to write out their thoughts before sharing them in a group.
The following is a storying format that we’ve used with students many times. Ideally, it should be used in a time slot when you have at least two hours or more to meet. And this outline isn’t set in stone—there are many ways you can approach storying. What’s important is that you allow enough time so you’re not hurrying through the process. For specific ideas for each of these elements, go to the IDEAS section of this website!
1. Build COMMUNITY
Have a meal together, play a game, and connect relationally. Don’t underestimate the power of laughter and fun.
2. REVIEW Previous Stories
Review should be fast-paced and fun. Review is especially important if you’re doing storying in a weekly format. The goal in reviewing past stories is to help the group make connections between the stories and see how each story fits into a larger narrative. Spend additional time reviewing the story from the previous session to get everyone up to speed.
3. PREPARE for Imaginative Listening
Your group will come to each meeting with a certain level of personal distraction—tiredness, stress, hyperactivity, and so on. The storying process is very repetitive, and some students who are accustomed to constant stimulation from media and video games tend to lose focus easily. You’ll need to be intentional in helping them refocus every session and coaching them to be attentive listeners.
4. NARRATE the New Story
Your role is not just reading words off a page, but bringing those words to life. Storytelling is more like the work of an artist than that of a teacher. It’s less about explaining and more about exploring. Our role is to help each other participate in the stories of God. As we participate in these stories, they become our own—the gospel happens to us.
5. Help the Group REPLAY the New Story
Immediately after telling the story allow a minute or two for participants to reflect and journal. Have them write down what they saw and sensed as the story was being told. Then do a retelling activity. Retelling should focus on recounting key events and dialogue from the story, not necessarily a word-for-word restating. The key to retelling is variety. Try activities that will connect with different types of learners. Have fun and laugh together. This will help your group grow closer. Learn from your listeners.
6. DIALOGUE About the New Story
Dialogue time is the solidifying piece in the storying process. Dialogue is where connections are made, key truths emerge, and the story becomes “our” story. Dialogue time is the key to effective storying. Questions are used to direct the participants to discover personal insights from the stories. In the narratives we’ve provided, questions lead participants to focus on wondering (feelings), remembering (facts), and connecting (implications). In order to keep the group focused, a dialogue time always points to the story just told and its connection to the previous stories in the chronology.
7. CONNECT the Story to Our Own Stories
Storying connection time is necessary to help participants apply what they’re learning to real life. Plan time and activities that help participants process how they’re seeing God’s Story connect to their stories. You may want to break your group into groups of three for more in-depth discussion and prayer. Ask participants to process a specific connecting question, such as, “How does this story challenge or encourage you to live?” They may want to write out their thoughts before sharing them in a group.
“My students were immersed in the Scriptures in a way they have never been before. They have a greater understanding of the Story of Stories. They became a part of the Story! This was an opportunity for us to engage in a life-changing experience.”
- DAVID, YOUTH WORKER
“The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.”
- MARTIN LUTHER
“The stories challenged me to look beneath the surface and search for more about Godʼs character. I learned something new from every single story.”
- JESSICA, STUDENT