For church planters like Malika*, literate church planting tools limited her effectiveness.

“I work with many women in my church and many of them do not read and write,” she describes. “It is very difficult to help them share the gospel because the methods we have are written.”

In a West African training hosted in partnership between StoryRunners® and Cru’s Global Church Movements, Malika learned to launch church-planting movements using oral Bible storytelling. Now Malika can foster spiritual growth among the women in her church who do not read or write. These women, in turn, can plant churches just by telling Bible stories! In small groups, they will lead others to engage with, discuss and internalize oral Bible stories. Over time, these groups will grow into house churches that will use Bible stories to help new believers both grow in their faith and reach the lost people around them.

“I see how using stories is going to be the key for [these women], not only in sharing the gospel but in making disciples of others,” Malika says.

In a six-month period, two other church planters like Malika used this oral church planting training to launch 12 new church plants!

Averin Awele, a national director for Campus pour Christ, the local ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ International in West Africa, states, “This [oral Bible story training] is fulfilling a dream. I have struggled to train those who cannot read and this is going to accomplish that.”

If you are a church planter in an oral culture, StoryRunners would like to come alongside you and help your ministry grow in effectiveness. Contact us to discuss how we can work in partnership together.