Bible Storying

The fact that the Bible goes from Adam to Zion makes using the ABC's an effective and easy way to share the “story” of the Bible with English speakers. Telling stories has been an important and effective method of teaching used around the globe since the beginning of time.

Although story telling works most effectively in an oral culture, who doesn't love a good story? When you hear a good story, who doesn't want to hear it over and over? And, when it's a really, really good story, who doesn't want to make it their own and share it over and over?

The Bible is a really, really good story. People who share it's story outside of American often share it just that way – as a story meant to be retold. The concept is not new. Jesus was the best story teller of all time, and we are still repeating His stories today. Today though, the concept is called Bible Storying, and it is a commonly used method of sharing the Gospel as it always has been. Just Google Bible storying, and see for yourself.

In Bible storying, the Bible stories are often arranged by topic into sets that are easy to learn and retell. For example, check out this International Mission Board article about New Hope, a set of Bible stories told in places like refugee camps where “each story addresses someone from the Bible who faced trauma and talks about how God interacted with them through that tragedy.” Students learn a new story each week that addresses what has recently happened in their lives then pass the story along.

Another method is Chronological Bible storying where the stories are told in chronological order rather than by topic. Nevertheless, the purpose of both methods is to share the Truth of the Bible with someone who will in turn share it with another who will share it with another and on and on.

Bible storying sets exist in many different languages, and Bible storying is used most often in oral cultures. Nevertheless, as we have already established, everyone likes a good story and many people will share a really, really good story with someone else.

That's where the ABC's come in. Most native English speakers know the ABC's. And, other than 1, 2, 3, what better method to show chronology in the English language than the ABC's?

So there we have it – The Bible From A to Z uses the idea of Bible storying to relate the story of the Bible from beginning to end in the English language.

Bible Storying Links:
ION: International Orality Network
One Story
Story Runners
Bible Storying
Wycliffe: What is Bible Storying
Tips on how to read and understand the Bible: The Bible Project The Bible Project: How to Read the Bible