Chronological Bible Storying to

Tribal and Nomadic Peoples

The storying approach puts faith in the Living Word to penetrate the tribal heart and
change lives—and so learn to trust its inherent power.

by J. O. Terry

A t first light we were stepping into a

shallow boat propelled by an
irrigation pump motor in a river estuary
Besides living at a subsistence level, there
is also widespread illiteracy, espe-
cially of the older people. Culturally they
tament story of any of those previously
taught, and then one of the stories of
Jesus previously taught. Drama was
north of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Gliding are not a very aggressive people. The encouraged as an additional training
through the swift stream we at last came central area group is not large having been activity.
to the tribal village where we were to reported at less than 40,000 in 1973, A teaching session ran about two
story that day. After a greeting and cup of though certainly more numerous now. hours until tea break. It began with sensi-
tea the storying place was agreed They are a basically animistic people tizing questions which the following
upon and a line fastened on which to hang with an unstructured system of appeasing stories would address. A portion of the
pictures. At eight in the morning we and avoiding the ire of the spirit story was read from the Bible and
began with a story about the Bible and world. Generally they have been open to then the story was told. We used pictures
how it came to us. The stories contin- the preaching of the gospel, but at the as unfortunately these had already
ued to introduce the characteristics of same time they have not been overly been introduced to some of the leaders
God, the creation of the spirit world, responsive or organized in their and were now expected to be used.
creation of the heavens and earth and The color pictures came from the set
response.
creation of man and his broken rela- “Telling the Story...” 1 jointly pro-
Beginning in the early 1980s an
tionship with God because of sin. duced by New Tribes Mission of the Phi-
audio-cassette project of nine cassettes
The group took a quick break for lippines and the Philippine Baptist
with programmed teaching sessions
tea and the stories continued until lunch. Missions. Pictures were displayed on a
was aimed at developing village leader-
We ate and rested for an hour and line so that a progression of stories
ship. It was then necessary to provide
then began again moving on toward the could be demonstrated.
hand-cranked cassette players among des-
story of Jesus. Another mid-afternoon
ignated leaders. The project was It was realized that some of the
tea break and then the stories about the
plagued with poor care of the players in participants had only limited literacy and
suffering and death of Jesus. At last
the field resulting in a high failure one or two were for all practical pur-
we finished with the resurrection and an
rate. The principal speaker on the cas- poses illiterate. They had a Bengali Bible
invitation at five in the afternoon for
settes was a noted Christian pastor and all teaching was interpreted into
we had to leave while it was still daylight.
and teacher whose Bengali is said to be Bengali. Bengali is widely spoken as a
For the last two hours the Koch vil-
“quite high Bengali.” market language but deeply religious
lagers sat like stones, hardly breathing.
terminology is not widely known. Many
When the last story was finished they Bible Storying Among the Koch of the questions which arose related
continued to sit very still, no one talking.
It was into this setting that to these terms which were new to the par-
At last one young man volunteered
Chronological Bible Storying was intro- ticipants. After each story there was
through the interpreter, “We’ve never
duced in 1990 after the initial two all- time given for questions related to the
heard a story like this before.” A sim-
day probes among selected Koch villages. story and any discussion about issues
ilar experience had happened the day
Several of the Koch leaders had been raised in the stories. Answers were delib-
before in another Koch village along
exposed to Bible storying in an overview erately kept simple and as much as
another river.
session given in Dhaka. Selected lay possible were related back to stories
The Koch primarily inhabit the which had already been taught.
leaders were invited to attend a five-day
central forested area northeast of Dhaka
Bible storying training camp during After each tea or meal break, and
and eke out a meager living as wood-
which a trial set of stories was taught sometimes more often, a summary
cutters in the forests. They are part of the
seven hours a day for five days. Three review was given from the beginning sto-
Sino-Tibetan peoples related to the
evenings were used for the group to give ries, and then later either of selected
highly Christianized Garos to the north.
practice stories, at least one Old Tes- stories from the beginning, or of the sto-
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168 Chronological Bible Storying

ries belonging to the cluster of stories Koch. He began to use Bible storying I would have to admit that while we
which had just been taught. Then we after the first training camp and has have trained, or at least exposed, over
moved on. Interest was high and attention since attended several more of the camps. 70 of the Koch leaders and lay workers to
good. The pictures appeared to He has had some Bible school level Bible storying, it has not greatly
greatly help in the review times as I training and so already had a good grasp increased the rate of church planting. I
walked from picture to picture of the basic Bible story. I have visited suspect there are other factors at work
reviewing the stories. Additionally, I sessions of both men to see them at work as we have received a good reception with
intentionally dramatized some of the and the effect of the stories upon the little or no resistance or hostility.
stories by playing off my interpreter and people. It was among these people that we
by gesturing or pointing to something An interesting thing happened realized that we had to deal with
in the picture as I told the story. during the session at which Barnard, the God’s sovereignty over the spirit world
There were several different non-Koch was teaching. We had early in the stories. We will continue
interpreters who helped during these ini- arrived at the village which was not in the to refresh the stories of the group. Many
tial training sessions. Among another typical forested area. He chose a of those in the later sessions had been
tribal group my interpreter insisted on place on the shady side of the open area in earlier training sessions. They helped to
pontificating and preaching so that and installed a string for hanging his model better stories among the new
the continuity of the story narratives was pictures. He had already been storying participants and they often answered the
mainly lost. The main problem there several sessions so was well questions which arose during the
among the Koch was one interpreter who known by the people. Most of the men story times.
truncated what I said, apparently sum- were away in the fields that day har- It was during the second training
marizing stories, and eliminating many vesting rice. Barnard began talking with session that I was impressed by a young
proper names. To combat this I had to the people and engaging them in a lady from a nearby village. It clearly
repeat the names often in the telling of the lively dialogue. First he reviewed earlier illustrated the prime reason for keeping
story and where the Bengali differed stories and then began his new story. the Bible story intact as a story, some-
significantly from English to say the name I had positioned myself in an inconspicu- thing that illiterate tribal women can han-
as a Bengali would to be sure the lis- ous place behind the group. dle quite well and share with other
teners heard the name associated with the women and with their own children. This
Nearby there was an old woman
story. young woman named Shika sat for
husking rice with a little foot operated
Apparently comprehension was fairly the five days hearing the Bible stories
device and a hole in the smooth dirt floor.
good as the practice stories revealed taught seven hours a day. In the even-
She was apparently paying no atten-
though we had a few choice humorous ings the group retold the stories for prac-
tion at all to what was happening. This is
moments with some of the stories. tice. This young woman’s two stories
where I was wrong. During the dia-
One would not be appropriate to retell in were in many respects better than those
logue time she was thump-thumping away
this article but it was one man’s ver- told by some pastors in the group.
in a steady rhythm. But as Barnard
sion of why Adam and Eve were expelled She made no notes and had no Bible as
read a portion of the story and then began
from the Garden of Eden. It had to do she was illiterate. At the end of the
to weave it together, the thumping
with common waste elimination practices week as she was leaving she announced,
slowed as the woman was straining to
encountered in typical villages. His “I am going back to my village now
hear. It slowed more and more, stop-
closing comment was, “God said to Adam and I will tell my people all the stories
ping at last as the woman began to sort of
and Eve, ‘Because of what you have I’ve heard this week.”
duckwalk her way off the raised floor
done you must get out of the Garden, so
and around the group seated on mats, What is Storying?
get out, get out! And from now on I'm
right up to the very front where she I coined this term in 1990 to bet-
going to make you wear clothes!’”
placed herself at Barnard’s feet. She sat ter express what I and others among our
Native Storyers there spellbound for the rest of the Southern Baptist colleagues were
Among the best storyers to come out story and the discussion time afterward. finding to be the best approach in typical
of the training was one non-Koch Later as I was leaving the village tribal and deep rural areas. Why “sto-
evangelist who worked in the Koch area there was a man with his buffalo treading rying” and not “storytelling?” There are
and who had already begun using out the grain. We stopped to greet several reasons: (1) Storytelling has a
Bible stories following the introductory him. He commented, “We are not Chris- strong association as an activity only for
sessions when some of the materials tians yet, but we are going to be children and therefore being over-
were first presented. The other man is someday.” looked as a culturally preferred learning

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 J.O. Terry 169

method for oral communicators. (2) It was Philippines was just entering tribal work Gauran4 who taught both the panorama
felt that a new term was needed to in the early 1980s when New Tribes overview of redemption as well as the
better describe the narrative method that Mission (NTM) missionary Trevor McIl- component stories needed to evangelize
was emerging for telling the Bible as wain had taught about his use of tribals, begin their discipleship and
story. This was to differentiate between chronological teaching of the Bible plant a church. He had followed much of
the methodology of Chronological among the Palawano people. Then the strategy of McIlwain in the use of
Bible teaching which usually does not Dell and Sue Schultze, also of NTM, phases which represented chronological
attempt to preserve the component adapted the chronological teaching groups of stories with their limited
teaching as stories in contrast to a deliber- approach to fit the culture of the Ilongot objectives.
ate attempt to preserve the component tribal people. Others in the Philip- By this time I had read Weber’s
teaching as stories for oral communica- pines, as well as nearby Papua New The Communication of the Gospel to Illit-
tors. This is done with appropriate Guinea, also made this adaptation erates5 which told of the illiterates'
review/preview teaching activities before toward use of stories. Several models of use of stories to communicate his
the story and dialogue following the chronological teaching were then cir- thoughts. Further reading of an
story where possible. With some hostile culating, including the basically non-story extract of Warneck’s The Living Christ
target audiences the communicator chronological teaching model and a and Dying Heathenism6 chronicled
will often be allowed only to tell the sto- model which preserved the story intact the use of Bible stories in Sumatra in the
ries and to answer any questions with while teaching inductively in dia- 1800s and pointed to the power of
recall of previous stories or telling of new logue before and after the story. The stories to communicate to tribals about the
ones (similar to Jesus’ example in advantages and disadvantages of living God.
Mk. 4:33-34). (3) Further, since some of these models were not widely understood How does this living picture of God
the pre-Bible and implied Bible sto- by early users. Many of the chrono- arise in the mind of the heathen?
ries did not have well-defined storylines, logical Bible teachers in the Baptist Mis- What kind of preaching must the mis-
sionary employ to set God’s might
or a story found basically in one sion were simply using materials
and majesty before the dulled eyes of
Scripture text, the information could be which were then available in the Cebuano the heathen? It will not be done by
put into a story format and told as a language of the area. intellectual instruction; the missionary
story. will get no audience for learned lec-
Beginning in 1988, I was asked to
tures about God. Life is not begotten
For example, the various themes help teach the methodology among by enlightenment; it passes from per-
as How our Bible came to be; The Living other Asian countries and to teach how to son to person, from God to man, by
living contact. The sole function of
God; God Created the Spirit World, use the chronological teaching materi-
preaching is to mediate a personal
etc., not have a typical story plot but were als from the Schultzes’ God and Man, 2 a acquaintance with God. That is done
to be told in narrative format as sto- 54-story set developed by Bryan and by depicting the deeds of the living
ries. So it was felt that “storying” was a Diane Thomas,3 also of NTM missionar- God before the eyes of the heathen.
Persons are made known by their acts.
term that could be used to express the ies, and a set of 105 teaching pictures Mission preaching proclaims the
use of these narrative accounts that did jointly developed by NTM of the Philip- deeds of God; it explains nothing at
not have all the typical components of pines and the Philippine Baptist Mis- first, expounds nothing; it simply nar-
rates what God has done. The heathen
a story, i.e. setting, characters, plot, reso- sion.
thereby gets to know God. He does
lution, etc. (4) Also there was a desire The first attempts were two train- not ask who God is, but what He does
to make a distinction between storytelling ing sessions in Indonesia which produced and can do .7
of all kinds of stories in the village little result and several failures by Jacob Loewen’s “Bible Stories: Mes-
setting as opposed to communicating those who attempted to follow the model. sage and Matrix”8 presents a case
God’s Word in the familiar and Later that year, a visit to the former study from among the Choco Indians of
highly accepted oral culture format. So Tribal Evangelism, Agriculture and Com- Panama and the experience of a New
“storying” in chronological Bible sto- munity Health (TEACH) training pro- Tribes Missionary, F. Glenn Prunty.
rying was coined to express this method. ject in the Philippines, demonstrated the Because of his own limitations in the
Bible “storying” has since gained value of teaching Bible stories to tri- Choco language, he used the translation
wide acceptance among Southern Baptists bals. Graduates of various tribal groups of the story series suggested for the
and the approximate 2,000 who have after nine months of intensive training Panama area. One hearing of this “story”
attended Baptist sponsored training ses- could immediately begin telling Bible sto- convinced an extended family group
sions. ries chronologically until told to stop. of the relevance of the message. On a suc-
The Southern Baptist Mission in the Aggressive training was done by Johani ceeding visit Mr. Prunty found them

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170 Chronological Bible Storying

ready “to give God the hand and to begin duced in the country. same session because of significant
walking on God’s road.” It is an Earliest training was of Bengali worldview differences. While the Tri-
excellent case study with story selection community development workers who puras are basically animists with some
criteria and the list of stories used regularly entered the area and taught. tinge of Hindu elements, the Chak-
with those people. Soon a group of Tripura leaders were able mas have a distinctive Buddhist-animist
Among those accounts which are to come out for a week of training fol- worldview. There are generic ele-
“storied” are 1) God’s Word to Us (how lowing the same regimen as that of the ments in both worldviews but it would be
the Bible came to be written), 2) The Koch. The stories were well-received. better to deal with each group separ-
Living God (introducing the characteris- Several training sessions followed involv- ately in the future.
tics of God), 3) The Creation of the ing more and more of the leadership. Among the Fulani and the Kui
Spirit World (dealing with creation of Then some of the Chakmas from further
Chronological Bible storying has
angels and Satan’s fall to introduce south also joined the training and
been used among the Fulani people of
evil spirits and God’s sovereignty over have carried Bible storying back to their
West Africa and with Berbers of North
them) and 4) later teaching from the people. We had no real way of evalu-
Africa who are nomadic. Because
Epistles where the stories become less ating what was happening on the inside
contact time may be limited it is often
defined and more implied. Most of except for verbal reports of use and
necessary either to use what is called
the Old Testament and Gospels, however, response. However, on one occasion there
“fast-tracking” (telling the redemption
are well-defined stories. Additionally, was opportunity to visit a small mud
story in a panorama from beginning
it was found that many of the main stories and thatch church just inside the hilly
to end in one session or in a limited time
used required bridging stories to con- area.
frame without stopping for discus-
nect one story to the next or to provide We visited at night, driving as close sion), or to use story clusters (groups of
some point of introduction which
as we could and then walking back related stories like the creation sto-
would make the main story more poig-
into the area. A young man of about 18 ries, the Abraham stories, Moses stories,
nant. years of age was storying to the peo- or Jesus stories, etc.) to shorten the
As far as preserving the story format ple that night. He struggled with the story time frame. This is assuming the mission-
for teaching, one has only to enter a but at last finished. He had displayed ary is not prepared to maintain a
village where the people are hostile to tra- a picture of Adam and Eve as he told this longer time frame by camping among the
ditional Christian teaching and try story. Later I asked where he had people. Those working with nomadic
teaching traditionally by exposition to see learned to tell the Bible story. He said that peoples who migrate through an area peri-
what happens. So the strategy that a pastor had taught him. That pastor odically as they look for grass and
evolved for use among other potentially had been in an earlier training session I water for their animals can story in a
hostile audiences was only to tell the conducted. So the stories were being camp meeting style suited to the rela-
stories and as much as possible to answer passed on to others. tively short time they are in the area. The
any questions with another story. In
At another time, when we storyer must be prepared to story all
practice, as a trust level develops and a
reached the stories of the arrest, trial, suf- night as the people do when telling their
community spirit is fostered by the
fering and death of Jesus, a delegation stories. Plan to spend special time
storying sessions, it may be possible to
of four tribal men arrived. They patiently with those in the group who are interested
include teaching activities that in the
listened to the stories until we had fin- to hear more and who can continue to
beginning would not have been allowed.
ished with the ascension story and some recite the stories as they travel on with the
Among the Tipura and Chakma comment about our need to accept group.
Chronological Bible storying has also what God has done for us in Jesus. One of Presently, missionaries and co-
been used for over six years among the men spoke up saying that this was workers use Bible storying in much
the Tripura living in the hills on the east- the Jesus they believed in but that some- of the Indian subcontinent region. One
ern side of Bangladesh. I must be one had only told them a little bit significant case study is that of the
sketchy with details here as it is a sensi- about Jesus and then left. So they were Kui people in the Khond Hills of Orissa
tive area where foreigners are not asking for someone to come to their State in India. The Kui are part of the
allowed to go. After some initial response village of 600 families to tell the stories. larger group of Khond tribals who already
among Tripura leaders an opening It too was in an area where foreigners have a thriving evangelical church
was secured for expanding the relation- could not enter. among them. It is a deep rural area in the
ship. This occurred about the same We have had a problem where mountains with poor soil, poverty and
time that Bible storying was being intro- the Tripuras and Chakmas come for the widespread illiteracy. An agricultural

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 J.O. Terry 171

demonstration and teaching project was group is from a Hindu animistic back- standing comes from either a faulty hear-
established to improve farming and ground and has a strong cultural pref- ing where the full story is not heard,
the food situation. As part of the curricu- erence for stories and for pictures. In their the story closely parallels one of their cul-
lum for trainees a Bible storying worship time before beginning the tural stories and so it bleeds over, or
package adapted from the Philippine The stories they often used a set of pictures to the listeners simply fail to comprehend
Witnessing Kit 9 was prepared in the illustrate the stories of Jesus in the because of new elements. Patient rep-
Kui language along with a set of 20 col- songs they were singing. In one of the etition of stories helps to overcome this as
ored teaching pictures to emphasize training sessions after the flood story does the work of the Holy Spirit in
the shed sacrificial blood which related had been told, the group decided to use giving comprehension to the group as the
well to their worldview. Those that story for one of their practice sto- stories progress. In time it is not
brought in for agricultural training were ries and to dramatize it. As is often done uncommon for someone in the group to
taught the stories and how to tell them in telling the Bible stories some correct the error of another.
in a village setting with all the typical “shaping” of the story may be needed to Negative restructuring may run the
interruptions. simplify it a bit, reducing the use of gamut from the humorous to the blas-
About this time a radio program was numbers or of proper names. I had simpli- phemous. One missionary storying among
begun which featured agriculture and fied some of the details like the sev- Manobo tribals followed an earlier
Bible teaching of which one series of pro- eral numbers and left out the part about agricultural lesson on the value of earth-
grams featured the Bible stories. To the birds which Noah sent out. I worms to cultivate the soil to improve
facilitate the use of information from the missed this in their retelling but caught fertility. When he told the story of Adam
programs, radio listener group leaders what they were doing in the drama as and Eve’s temptation by the snake,
were trained to gather the listener groups Noah sent out his birds, first the carnal some in the group thought that worms
and to lead them in discussion after raven which did not return and then were not good as one had caused
each broadcast. Each group leader was the obedient dove which did return with a
Adam and Eve to sin. Information over-
then trained in the use of the story set leaf in its beak. When I asked Noah
load may result from trying to cover
and given the pictures. Over 225 have about this part of the drama, he replied, too much at one time. Story clusters are
received this story training. They “Sir, you did not understand the helpful in providing a larger setting
have an excellent evangelism and initial story! Birds are a very important part of for a particular story which may have ele-
discipling tool which along with the our culture. There are bad omen birds ments which are stabilized by the
radio program and other outreach is pro- and good omen birds. And a good omen
related stories. But story clusters can lead
ducing a new church every five days. bird that returns with a leaf in our cul-
to information overload, or as one tri-
Further, since many of these tribal people ture tells us that God’s anger had subsided
bal man in northern Thailand put it, “You
are only marginally literate and have and that now it was safe to come out
are making our heads hurt—slow
no resources other than a New Testament of the Ark.” Learning from that experi-
down!”
in their tribal language, the stories ence and several more like it with
One colleague working with a tri-
provide an excellent beginning set of ser- rural women, I have learned to tell the sto-
bal group in East Africa told of the prob-
mons for new worship groups. Initial ries and then sit down and ask the lis-
lem among his listeners when they
introduction of the Bible stories was done teners to explain the story to me. Many of
confused the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
in two week-long training sessions of these people live in Old Testament
with their belief in possession of male
pastors beginning in 1990. During any cultures and they see and understand
children by the spirit of the grandfather.
follow-up visits in the area to affirm things in the stories a Western mis-
So it takes patience and careful prep-
new believers or to preach in one of their sionary misses.
aration of listeners to be sure they are get-
churches, I use Bible stories selected
Evaluations ting from the story what is intended.
for the occasion to continue modeling
Stories can fade with time unless The chronological approach is ideal
Bible stories for them. Usually these
periodically refreshed. In oral cultures in that it approximates the tribals
will be a group of stories (called a cluster)
this is done by retelling them frequently. mental time marker filing system. Story-
which are related thematically or have
For tribals it is a good practice to ing through the Bible chronologically
the same actors.
periodically refresh the stories. Bible sto- gives him a filing system into which later
Storying Among the Marwari rying camps would be an ideal way to stories may be dropped by referring
Storying was taught to Marwari tribal do this. to the events mentioned in the earlier sto-
workers in Sindh, Pakistan, in two Misunderstanding and negative ries. It is helpful to stress these time
separate week-long training sessions. This restructuring can be a problem. Misunder- markers when telling the stories. The

VOL 14:4 OCT.-DEC. 1997

172 Chronological Bible Storying

Bible writers have used many in their sto- they see everything in the pictures and do book and prophet. He said, “A Bible story
ries like the ages of Abraham when not necessarily see the major theme can go anywhere a camel can go.
certain events happened, or Isaiah’s “In or point the picture is illustrating. Visual Let’s tell the Bible stories to those people
the year that King Uzziah died...” literacy, or lack of it, is often a factor. who ride camels and see where they
(6:1, NIV). For instance, the color of skin in the take it around the world.”
Tribal and nomadic cultures have pictures can send strong signals. I
End Notes
a stability that depends on their structure have a set of pictures of the stories of
1. Gabuco, Caloy, “Telling the Story...”,
not being violated. This usually Jesus from West Africa. All in the
means that individuals do not make deci- stories are black and the scenes, houses Church Strengthening Ministry,
sions—the group does, or the chief and activities of the people are all Manila.
does. Everyone then obeys. Change may African village. The pictures are not with- 2. Schultze, Dell and Sue, God and
come slowly even after hearing the out their problems. Jesus is depicted Man, Church Strengthening Ministry,
stories. One caution is not to press for in a red robe in most pictures which is Manila.
decisions too soon. The stories may fine for those following traditional 3. Thomas, Bryan and Diane, translated
need time to be with the people until a cri- African religion. But for Muslims it dis- and edited by Jeff Palmer, Chron-
sis event occurs and the stories are qualifies Jesus. He should have been ological Storytelling: Telling the Bible
validated or somehow meet a need. So it in green! In a another brilliantly colored Story, Church Strengthening Min-
demands much patience to first get set of biblical wall posters I some- istry, Manila.
the stories into their hearing. Then wait times use with tribal people, Adam and 4. Gabuco, op. cit.
for the Spirit to bring fruit. Eve are being confronted by a contex-
5. Weber, Hans Rudi, The Communica-
A couple working among Taureg tualized snake, an obvious cobra with its
tion of the Gospel to Illiterates,
Berbers had been telling the Old Tes- hood flared. One man said after the
SCM.
tament stories. When a couple decided to story, “This is not good, you are saying
that one of our gods that we worship 6. Warneck, Johanes, The Living
get married they asked the missionar-
caused this problem.” Christ and Dying Heathenism, Baker.
ies to tell Bible stories at the wedding.
Any tribal event that I am asked to Drama is usually safer with these 7. Warneck, op. cit.
attend I offer to tell one or more Bible sto- folks and they love it. I would suggest to 8. Loewen, Jacob, Culture and Human
ries as part of the event to get God’s anyone using stories with tribals to Values, William Carey Library.
Word into their everyday culture. take the time to let them re-enact the sto- 9. Gauran, Johani, The Witnessing Kit,
Among the Khonds of Orissa, ries. It will save the cost of a set of Church Strengthening Ministry,
India, the group was fascinated by the pictures and will leave something with Manila.
creation stories, the flood and the them they not only enjoy doing but 10. Life of Tesus Mafa, Vie de Jesus
tower of Babel stories. After the tower of which vividly paints the biblical picture Mafa, Versailles.
Babel story one of them asked, “Are they need to remember.
11. Biblical Wall Posters, National
you telling us that Noah was our grandfa- One of the greatest advantages of
Biblical Catechetical and Liturgical
ther? Is he your grandfather, too?” to chronological Bible storying is the
Centre, Bangalore.
which I had answered, “Yes.” “That’s sense of community it fosters as it brings
wonderful news,” he exclaimed, “If the storyer and tribal listeners
Noah is our grandfather, and if he is your together. It may mean having to hear their
grandfather, then that means we are stories in order for one to have the J. O. Terry is Media Consultant for the
brothers!” This tribal man was in an area right to tell your story. The storying Asia-Pacific region serving with
that is being pressed to become a approach puts faith in the Living the Southern Baptist International
scheduled tribe in the Hindu caste system. Word to penetrate the tribal heart and Mission Board. He worked out of
I cannot end without mentioning change lives—and so learn to trust its
the Philippines from 1970-1983 and
the use of Bible teaching pictures which inherent power.
out of Singapore since 1984.
some use with their stories among tri- One last thought. A colleague of
bals.10, 11 A picture may be worth a thou- mine has mentioned a strategy regarding
sand words in Western culture but it sending the Word among all the peo-
can raise a thousand questions in tribal ples of the earth—especially among that
cultures. I can vouch for the fact that large segment that have their own

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FRONTIER MISSIONS