The following stories come from Carrie. She is serving among a Muslim Unreached People Group with only a handful of Christians and a single nascent church.
Mama G has been so excited about the stories from the beginning. She is really hard of hearing and doesn’t know a bit of Swahili, so a heart language story set has been an amazing tool to share God’s story.
Introductory Orality & Storying Workshop
March 10-18, 2015
JAARS, Waxhaw, NC USA
[Note: the last day is now March 18, not 21]
A OneStory worker in Asia told us this month about a utilization project he started three years ago (2011) with a story set in Northeast India.
I was working with several YWAM relationships around Varanasi and became aware of about 30 Bhojpuri church planters working in that region. I then learned of a finished but unused Bhojpuri story set. I asked about interest in oral strategies and immediately went there to begin story usage and church planting training. A year later I consulted and did a refresher training. By the end of 2014, these 30 Bhojpuri YWAMers on five church planting teams will have established 100 house churches and continue to train pastors and elders.
The above photo shows all five YWAM church planting teams meeting last month (November 2014) to praise God for all He has done and plan for the future.
The people who speak Boma [pseudonym] as their mother tongue live along the coastlines of several Southeast Asian islands. Although a few portions of Scripture are available in the Boma language, most Christian clergy rely only on the national language leaving the majority of Boma speakers struggling to understand God’s Word. That leaves the majority of Boma speakers struggling to understand God’s Word and why The Seed Company, Wycliffe personnel, Kartidaya and the largest local denominational church started working in partnership on an oral Bible project.
The OneStory Partnership is now recognized as one of the Count for Zero Organizations by The Issachar Initiative. It is very natural to have OneStory and Issachar partner together. Issachar has a strong focus on reaching the unreached, which is what OneStory has always been about. We are excited to be a part of the larger community of believers with whom God has put this vision in their hearts. We want to be connected with all those who are about God’s vision for Unreached People Groups (UPGs). This is one more step at getting the Body of Christ being just that, a well functioning body, each part doing what God made them to be. OneStory wants to do what it can to be a blessing to our brothers and sisters in this effort.
September 2004, my teammate and I headed from the U.S. to an unreached people group living in the Himalaya Mountains. Due to the extreme violence that both workers and new believers have faced, I will refer to them as the Sweater People and testify how I saw God’s story touch their hearts.
Our goal was to live among the Sweater People, learn about them, and love them. We were to find a person of peace who would help us develop a Chronological Bible Story Set which would both touch the hearts and needs of the Sweater People and give them a biblical worldview.
May 2-9, 2014
YWAM Tyler, Twin Oaks Ranch, Lindale Texas
This workshop is for anyone who wants to learn a hands on, interactive method to share God’s Word so that people can hear, see & experience God’s story in a fun & relational way.
WHEN: March 24-28, 2014
WHERE: Chiang Mai, Thailand, SE Asia
PROPOSED AGENDA:
1) Presentations and discussions about “what works best and what doesn’t” – framed in practitioner’s local and/or organizational context.
Reports from each region
Night after night, James was awakened by a voice that said, “Read the book on the shelf.” So he began to read, and each night as he read more and more of God’s Word, his heart was touched. His life began to change. He gradually quit practicing his religious rituals, and his family and the community took notice. Jesus became irresistible to James and in the quiet of one of those nights, James surrendered to him…
A new five-minute video shows Elizabeth Wilson (one of OneStory’s most active Quest alumni) taking her years of experience to the next level as she makes yet another trip to South Asia as a storying consultant helping local Christians present Bible stories in their own language and cultural style.