Faith Storytellers
Framework & Guardrails
At Faith Storytellers, we lead believers through a unique style of Christian storytelling: One focused on your personal testimony. That’s opposed to teaching or preaching, in which you share a lesson or explain a Biblical truth.
We believe that true-first person stories are the bridge that can help your audience lean in and what to know more.
Faith Storytellers Framework teaches a five-step process to identifying which of your many faith stories to share. Scroll down or click here to learn more.
Faith Story Guardrails ensure your story focuses on your relationship with God and how it has changed and grown over time. Scroll down or click here to learn more.
If you want to learn more about sharing your Christian testimony, we’ve written a whole book about it! “Faith Storytellers: Unleash the Power of Your Story” will be released soon!
Faith Storytellers Framework
It’s not just about telling your story; it’s about crafting it so your reader or listener wants to “lean in” and learn more. The framework’s five-step process was developed by a national award-winning journalist so everyone — including you! — can share their Christian faith with confidence through a story.
Step 1: Pray for guidance.
Reflect on what true, first-person story to share about your faith. Consider praying, “God, what story have you given me to share with others as a gift, with no expectation of return?”
Step 2: Outline your story into three scenes.
Create three clear section, or scenes, in your story:
Beginning (typically the opposite of your ending)
Middle where something changes
Ending that brings resolution and shares a personal statement about your faith (“What I know to be true about God that I didn’t before …”)
The last part of your story (what you know about God) is your main point of your story, or what we call the Story Anchor. Limit yourself to one Story Anchor.
Step 3: Create a narrative sequence
Review each of your three scenes (beginning, middle, and ending) and create a narrative sequence in each scene by adding or refining:
Description of where you are (time and place)
Action (what happened)
Reaction (how you felt about what happened)
Make sure you include a detail from one of your five senses (touch, hearing, smell, taste, sight) in each scene.
Step 4: Add details that show how God revealed himself to you (but don’t tell us!)
Where was God in your story? How did he reveal himself to you?
Review your narrative scenes and make sure that God shows himself. Don’t state how he worked (don’t say, “God did this.”) Instead, describe moments that were meaningful and reflected God’s movement.
In our book, “Faith Storytellers: Unleash the Power of Your Story,” we discuss how God is like the wind: You can’t see him, but based on the evidence of how the grass sways or how a calm settles in after a storm, you can see that he is there.
Step 5: Prepare your story to share.
Ask a trusted friend what parts can be refined for clarity. They will often see what parts are confusing (maybe you need to edit down the story) or which could use more details to make the story come alive.
Review your spelling, grammar, and word usage. If writing, use the Faith Storytellers Style Guide for how and when to capitalize certain words. Using the same writing style creates cohesion among a collection of stories.
Practice saying your story out loud from memory if you plan to speak it (you don’t have to memorize it word-for-word, just the main points).
If you’re submitting it in writing (here’s how to submit to Faith Storytellers), read it out loud to yourself. You may also want to share it with a friend. Depending on your naturally storytelling style, which we discuss in “Faith Storytellers: Unleash the Power of Your Story,” you may want to add to or cut from your story.
Read a few faith stories.
Keep in touch!
Join our newsletter.
Faith Story Guardrails
First-person stories are a bridge that can span two opposing sides, especially if you are intentional about what to include and what to leave unsaid. That’s why these guardrails are so helpful. By checking your story against them, you can structure it to be received by any audience, regardless of where they are in their spiritual journey.
• I feel peace about how my story has unfolded so far. I can share my story with composure and compassion.
• I am willing to share my story with courage and vulnerability. I am an imperfect person in a relationship with imperfect people. I have a perfect God.
• I can share my story in a “PG” or “PG-13” way. It may include the darkness, but it doesn’t dwell on it. Instead, it focuses on how God worked in the situation or the light he brought.
• My story is safe for me and the people in my story. It does not allege wrongdoing by another or criticize or condemn others. It aligns with my church values and beliefs.
• If needed, I am comfortable using a metaphor instead of dwelling on the dark details or how I was wronged. Instead, I may focus on how I felt and name the emotions I was experiencing at the time.
• I am the keeper of my story. Because of this, my story is in the first person throughout. It uses “me,” “my,” “mine,” and “I.”
• My story avoids teaching or telling others what to do or what to believe (“you” or “your”). I’ve framed these, instead, as my approach to living or my personal belief or conviction.
• My story avoids preaching, which explains common beliefs or spiritual truths that universally apply (“our” or “we”). I’ve framed these, instead, as my personal belief about how God works in the world.
• My story focuses on my relationship with God, not other people. My Story Anchor, or main point, is grounded in my relationship with God and how he revealed himself to me.
• I have only one main point in my story, which is in my resolution. I acknowledge that I have many stories to share, but I am focusing on only one.
• My story brings resolution to the beginning. My story’s ending may be the opposite of my story’s beginning. It concludes in the first person and answers the question: What do I know to be true about God that I didn’t before?
• I have agency over how long or short it is. I have decided to share a short story that is 700 to 1,200 words when written or 6 to 8 minutes when spoken.
• I am ready to give my story away as a gift. My story’s value is not based on the number of people who read or hear it, nor is its value based on how people react after I share it. God already values my story.
Want an example?
Read a few faith stories.
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Join our newsletter.