Telling the Gospel Through Story: Evangelism That Keeps Hearers Wanting More

by Christine Dillon

The 2013 Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year in Evangelism

Everybody loves a good story.

In an age when prepackaged gospel formulations leave people cold, well-told Bible stories can be used powerfully by God to touch people's hearts and draw them to himself.

After ministry in both Western and non-Western contexts, church planter Christine Dillon has discovered that Bible storying is far more effective than most other forms of apologetics or evangelistic presentations. In fact, non-Christians actually enjoyed storying and kept coming back for more.

Storying provides solid biblical foundations so listeners can understand, apply and respond to the gospel, and then go on to fruitful maturity in God's service.

This book includes practical guidance on how to:

Shape a good story,
How to do evangelism through storying and
How to lead Bible discussions.
With particular insights for trainers and those working in crosscultural contexts,

Concrete steps for sharing the Story that everyone needs to hear.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Evangelism, Christian Non Fiction, Religion, Christian Living, Spirituality

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 14, 2012

About the author

Christine writes both Christian fiction and non-fiction.
Her debut novel, 'Grace in Strange Disguise' - was published 1 October 2017. The six-book series was completed in December, 2021.
In 2023, Christine changed genres and is now writing Old Testament-era fiction. The 'Light of Nations' series will be multiple books, starting with 'Wells and Wanderers - Amorites'.

Author website: www.storytellerchristine.com
Subscribe via my website to become a 'storyteller friend' for updates and a free book.
Find 'storytellerchristine' on FB, Pinterest.
Follow on BookBub.

Since 2004, Christine has been a Bible storyteller, and each year she's more excited by what she's learning. This is a tremendous way to communicate and make disciples.

Bible storytelling website & linked Facebook group: www.storyingthescriptures.com
'storying the scriptures' (closed FB group - so you need to ask permission to join)

BOOK TRANSLATIONS
* 'Telling the Gospel Through Story' was published in traditional Chinese in February 2015

* 1-2-1 discipleship was published in simplified Chinese in October 2015 and in traditional Chinese in January 2017.

* Verborgen Genade (Dutch translation of 'Grace in Strange Disguise), published in February 2020.

* Siegreich Sein: mit Gottes Wort (German translation of 'Sword Fighting') published December 2021.

Reviews

[Penny Reeve · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 'Telling the Gospel through Story' Christine Dillon does a thorough job at presenting a case for, and then guiding the reader through the steps and challenges faced when using storytelling to share the Gospel.
This book is easy to read and broken into helpful and applicable chapters which include ample examples of storytelling as a method of evangelism and discipleship.
Christine's experience and passion are evident, but so to is the compelling argument for learning how to story. Having had some experience with other forms of storytelling, I found Christine's book very practical and general enough to be applied across a wide variety of contexts.
I did wish there had been more western context examples, however, as I did find myself wondering if some of the flexibility Christine shares regarding the use of storytelling occurs more naturally in other cultural contexts. I cannot imagine stopping the local checkout lady and asking her if she'd like to hear a story - whereas in many Asian cultures this would be entirely acceptable and appreciated.
But for anyone wishing to think through accessible ways to share the Gospel, encourage discussion and heart connections to the word of God this is a great resource and well worth adding to your library. I certainly highlighted many parts for future reference!

[Tricia Stringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a storyteller and trainer, I'm convinced that the only way to learn to share the Gospel through storytelling is to do it. We can read about the reasons why we should do it and why it 'works,' but I've read enough and I could recite the reasons to do it in my sleep. Honestly, we don't really understand why storying works and why we should do it until we go out and start telling stories. When we see the light that dawns on our listeners' faces and watch them grow in understanding of who Jesus is, we 'get it,' and we can't stop doing it. Christine has written a book that every would-be storyteller can benefit from because it encourages them, through her own real-life experiences (instead of through theory), to go next door, start a conversation, and tell a story! This book is full of practical insights and step by step helps for those who long to share the greatest story in a way that people around them can finally understand and relate to.

[Sally Poyzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is truly fantastic! I think every pastor and leader should read this. And every Christian too - because the task of sharing the gospel is everyone's. This book challenged and inspired me to re-think how I share the gospel in a wide range of contexts. It is really easy to read and the insights are excellent. I cannot recommend it highly enough and have already excitedly recommended it to many people 😊

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for a practical why and how to story the Bible. Also helpful for understanding how to use a story to disciple someone.

[Josiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truely inspiring - this book makes me excited about sharing the gospel with others! I'm grateful for the thoughtful and humble way the author has put this book together

[JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

In an age where people rather feel than think and base decisions more on gut feelings than rational arguments it's crucial to find ways of sharing the gospel in relevant ways which addresses the heart and helps people to get over prejudices and cultural barriers one step at a time.
I think this book offers a great way to help people engage with the greatest story of all times in an unthreatening way. It's easy, practical and not twisting the message of the gospel.
"Telling the Gospel through story" should be a standard for everybody who wants to share Gods love in a postmodern pluralistic world.

[Jen Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christine has a masterful way of expressing evangelism in an engaging way. A pragmatic approach littered with lively examples. I don't typically read books about the how-to's of evangelism but this challenged me as I read. Christine obviously has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share.

[Carol Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really helpful for telling engaging stories. I read it with a group of people, and we all practiced storytelling with one another.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Telling The Gospel Through Story by Christine Dillon is a powerful evangelistic tool explaining the merits of storytelling. Story telling is not new. It has existed down the centuries. First there was the oral tradition and then the written word. People are drawn to stories. They imagine themselves to be in them and they remember them. A list of facts would be very dry and people would switch off but use those facts as the bones on which to hang a narrative and it is a very different kettle of fish.
Stories are an evangelistic tool. We need to tell the stories of the Bible in our own words, adapting to the needs of the audience to whom we are talking. They need to draw the listener in and awaken something inside that enables the listener to go off and explore this wonderful God for themselves. Our stories are not to replace the Bible but to work in tandem.
Christine Dillon explains how we can learn to become great storytellers. She gives pointers, stressing always to begin with prayer, asking God to bless His audience. Practice beforehand the bare bones of your story, be principled and have a purpose - to always bring God the glory.
A good story will have listeners thinking and asking questions. Always answer truthfully.
This is a wonderful little book to equip anyone wanting to spread the Good News via stories. There are handy tips, 'action' sections and 'reflections' asking questions of you at the end of each section.
Christine Dillon includes anecdotes of her own. She writes with a free and easy style to equip and inform.
Everything you need to know about sharing the Gospel through stories is contained within this one little book. Christine Dillon's wealth of experience and learning help us to learn how to share God with the world.
A marvellous book.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

[Heather Lehman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough, practical and inspiring introduction to Bible storying for evangelism and discipleship in all kinds of contexts.

[Dave Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a follow-up to Sam Chan’s “Evangelism in a Skeptical World”. I loved every page of this book. I’ve started storytelling and I’ve seen a huge response in listeners. People are more engaged, more encouraged to read the Bible themselves, and seem more interested in looking into God than I would’ve expected. A must read.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic method for evangelism. Read it, do it, teach it, and repeat!

[Roe Kitchin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I will return to again and again. It is a treasure to have access to the wisdom Christine has gained from 12 years experience as she storytells around the globe. There was so much to take in..hence the return reads. And she comforts our fears by being very relatable - ‘it doesn’t work every time’ and ‘people won’t necessarily give their life to Christ by hearing 10 stories’. Highly recommend this book. Now I just have to get on with it!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I've read on storying and one of the BEST books I've read on evangelism. 1) Christine is an evangelist at heart and her love of sharing the Gospel is contagious! 2) She shares/teaches from her own experience and doesn't just talk about theories or ideas. This makes storying practical and accessible, breaking it down into bite-sized pieces so that anyone can do it. 3) The book is the perfect balance of theory/abstract teaching and practical application. Immediately after reading the book I had a thorough knowledge of storying and could explain its benefits, but also had every practical step of crafting my own story set and immediately putting what I had learned into practice.

I am incredibly thankful for this resource and plan to use it in my context (as a mom of two. Girls that LOVE stories! And as a foreign worker living among oral learners).

[Angie Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone who wants to take the Bible seriously and wants to share that with others. In tandem with Eat this Book (Eugene Peterson), Christine Dillon pushed me to examine how I perceive the Bible and how I can best live it out as 'authoritative.' I once had someone tell me that we need to "be careful not to get our theology from story" Given that the Biblical text is largely storied and narrative, that set me on edge and set me on a journey of trying to explain how to do theology from story. This book has very practical ideas about how to tell stories as part of evangelism, but more importantly for me, it also gave real-life stories of people using story to teach, disciple and even preach. Something that I think the church as a whole could learn from and GREATLY benefit from.

[Ruth Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good introduction to using storytelling in evangelism and as a way to share the Gospel. I believe that to really grasp how to use storytelling in evangelism you need to "see" it for yourself instead of "reading" about it. However, the book is a good tool to introduce this topic or to complement what you are learning through experience. It does a really good job to encourage you to evangelize and use storytelling in the process and all the information is relevant, well-organized and is easy to understand. I also loved all the personal stories and how the Gospel impacts different cultures.

[Jon Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely outstanding book, both instructional, and anecdotal examples that really help put into practice the ability to reach people's hearts through telling stories of the Bible.
Since reading this book, I have lead a group of men through learning and practicing the stories of the Bible to use with both evangelism, and for our own personal walk with Jesus.
Could not recommend this book high enough!
Thank you, Christine, for your Kingdom work and your wonderful example.

[Trix Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is brilliantly written and the principles for story telling could be adapted to just about any setting. I think you could apply them to telling Bible stories to your kids (maybe the kids could help you compose the stories and do drawings!). There are so many versatile ways to make use of the insights in this book. A reference classic for telling engaging meaningful stories from the Bible.

[Brad Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very practical and balanced. It gives both examples and the perspective needed to using storying in evangelism.

[Christian Oliverio · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty helpful book with a very simple premise. The easiest way to tell people the Gospel is to tell them the story.

The majority of the book was troubleshooting and training over the basics of what "storying" is. While it was nothing profound or crazy, this does a great job compiling all the info into a single book. I also like that she doesn't directly tell any of the stories or tell you what her "set" is. In her own words, that would defeat the purpose as the whole point of storying is for you to come up with your own way of sharing the gospel through your favorite stories. Now, she still shares plenty of examples of storying, not going into the details of the stories, but sharing the relevant portions pertaining to these examples. Perhaps the strongest part of Dillon's book is her openness about failure. You will make plenty of mistakes. That is okay, even the masters (such as Dillon and the various mentors she mentions throughout the book) make mistakes.

Great model, definitely go through this book with someone, lest the information goes in one eye and out the other.

[Carlos C · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the last few decades, we’ve been stuck in a one-size-fits-all model of preaching and evangelism—namely, the logical, linear presentation of propositional ideas. This method is great for abstract-ideational thinkers. But, estimates are that four out of five Westerners, and nine out of ten non-Westerners, prefer concrete-relational thinking. In other words, they learn from hearing stories, rather than from abstract ideas. Dillon’s book is the helpful addition we’ve needed. Finally, we’re freed up to use stories in not just preaching and evangelism, but also in the way we lead Bible studies and teach in Bible colleges and seminaries. Get the book, check out the website storyingthescriptures.com, and give it a go. You’ll be blown away by how simple it is. And soon you’ll be telling stories—the “mother tongue” of the majority of our audiences.

[Bobbie Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who is about to take on a storytelling ministry I found ‘Telling the Gospel Through Story’ an enormously helpful and confidence-building book to help us tell Bible stories. It comprehensively deals with how to select and tell motivating stories and how to lead and encourage others to do the same.
This book is written in clear and simple language, using many examples from the author’s own experience and that of others to illustrate issues and how they can be resolved. It is one I will be referring back to, over and over.

[Juanita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first half of this book. It is interesting to hear how much positive feedback and connections she makes with Storying. The second half of the book moved a lot more into missionary teaching and assumed from half a book that you were now teaching others storying. The last part of the book gave a lot of examples but I just did not connect with her style of writing. I am glad I read though.

[BJ Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christine Dillon presents the art of storying as evangelism (and discipleship) as the best way to do so. While I certainly think there are many times and contexts in which this might be the case, I don't think it is the only or even the best way to do so in others. Certainly, storying is a severely underutilized tool. But it is still that... a tool. And no single took is always the best for every job.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author's love for God's story in the Bible, her passion for people to be gripped by it, and her desire to see many better equipped to communicate it are evident in this very practical and encouraging book. Each chapter provides some useful reflection questions. As she says, storying takes one on a journey of discovery!

[Rod Innis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I read because I want to use what I have learned to become a better teller of Bible stories. I have been doing this with some stories for several years. I do this in my Bible classes in school and some in working with international students. It is in that context especially that I want to do storytelling more. I will keep this book handy to use as a reference.

[Elissa Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful! Telling stories is part of the human experience – after all, sharing stories gives us our background and connects us to family and community. To share the gospel through stories from the Bible is a beautiful and natural way to share your faith. Christine writes an engaging “how-to” from her a wealth of experience. A terrific contribution to evangelism training.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've read Christine's Grace Series (or if you haven't) and you are interested in learning to tell Bible stories as a way of evangelism or discipleship, than you will find this book very helpful in that journey. Read it cover-t0-cover, or use it as a reference to help encourage you and answer questions you encounter as you prepare stories of your own to share with people in your own life.

[John Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me FOREVER to finish so a little slow. For someone who is pretty accustomed to this technique and has used it a lot, it wasn’t terribly new or revolutionary info. But it’s definitely a cool way of sharing that the West has sometimes ignored as we’ve gone toward stuff like Romans road and expositional teaching.

Almost too many random stories of people…felt like it could have been shorter.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

It is a decent book that talks about the importance of oral tradition and storytelling. There are some strong points that illustrate the main focus of the book. I think the main points could have been said in fewer words, however, which would be my strongest criticism.