Help Others Learn Bible Stories

Professional storyteller John Walsh uses a highly interactive procedure in BibleTelling training to involve everyone in a larger group in the action. According to my notes at an ION workshop, John said that after telling the story, he gets them to practice it. He shows them a storyboard that he uses to remember the main scenes. His storyboard is simply a set of cards or posters with simple stick figures depicting the action in the Bible story.

John divides the group into pairs and asks them to use his storyboard to retell the story to each other. Then he asks them in larger groups to describe the locations in the story. He retells the story. At that point he divides them into creative art groups. One group develops a drama; another works out a pantomime. A third group creates a song and still another paints pictures of the story. Then he has each group present their production to the whole group.

By the time John is finished, his listeners have heard or experienced the story twelve times!