I’ve written before on Pomomusings about the power of story and even preached about storytelling and youth ministry. I’ve been drawn to other resources that talk about how to incorporate storytelling into ministry and so I was drawn to Jon Huckins‘s new book “Teaching Through the Art of Storytelling: Creating Fictional Stories that Illuminate the Message of Jesus.”
Jon is a veteran youth pastor and public school teacher who is now on staff with NieuCommunities, a collective of missional church communities who foster leadership and community development, in San Diego.
The book is broken up into four parts:
- Theology of Storytelling: here he discusses the importance of embracing the narrative of Scripture
- Philosophy of Storytelling: a discussion about why teaching through story invites and engages listeners
- How to Create Fictional Stories that Illuminate the Message of Jesus: this is the practical or “how-to” section of the book. Jon walks people through how to artfully create modern day parables that offer theological and practical insights
- Story Resources: Jon shares some of his own stories that he has written
If you’re in youth ministry or another teaching ministry and are interested in the power of story, you should check out Jon’s book. You can download the Kindle version here, which is available today.
