Storytelling in Generosity

People remember a good story.

Stories are the ties that bind over generations. They’re the things told on front stoops on hot August nights, over hot chocolate during cold winters while the fires blazing; storytelling is the single thread connecting all of human history together. From spoken word to transcribed papyrus, stories connect us with the past and allow us to lean with clarity into our future.

A good story invites people into your story. 

John from San Dimas just moved to your church and has absolutely no idea who you are, what your church is all about, or if he and his family is coming back to your church. You have one opportunity to meet him where he is at, and take him where he needs to be.

Your ability to connect with John and his family will greatly determine their willingness to embrace the narrative of your story and make your church home, theirs too. 

That’s why generosity at your church has to be more than a call to discipleship and action (which it totally is), but also an invitation to participate in something much greater than themselves. Collectively, the church body can accomplish so much more than individuals on their own. After all, who ever won a relay race by themselves?

A good story makes your story, their story. 

When you start with a story, you ultimately end with a story. We say at Catalyst that “When you give, it’s not just our story, but it’s God’s story, and it most definitely is God’s story.” We’ve been saying this for over three years now (since before our church launched).

That’s why a good story inspires people to participate. 

If you can connect your story to their story, and bind it together in the greater God-story that God is weaving at your church, it will move people onto His plan for generosity and ultimately, His mission plan for how your church will ultimately reach your community for Christ.

John is at your church, and for a reason to believe. 

Give him a reason to believe, a story to connect with, and a mission to be a part of. When you do this, generosity will follow and the walls of the church will be shaken as the Spirit takes over and opens wide the gates of your influence. May you create the right kind of generosity story at your church that helps bring those far from God back home to Jesus this week, next week, and every week after.

Keep in mind: 

• People remember a good story.
• A good story invites people into your story.
• A good story makes your story, their story.
• A good story inspires people to participate.