My sister is the Communications Director for Invisible Children, a non-profit based in California that is doing some amazing humanitarian work in Uganda. One of the big reasons for their success is their effective use of storytelling. As they say about themselves:

We are storytellers. We are visionaries, humanitarians, artists, and entrepreneurs. We are individuals part of a generation eager for change and willing to pursue it.

As a non-profit we work to transform apathy into activism. By documenting the lives of those living in regions of conflict and injustice, we hope to educate and inspire individuals in the Western world to use their unique voice for change. Our media creates an opportunity for people to become part of a grassroots movement that intelligently responds to what’s happening in the world.

My sister was telling me recently of a meeting Invisible Children had with World Vision in which the power of storytelling was highlighted. Within the meeting, World Vision observed how disproportinately their donors were much older compared to Invisible Children’s. While World Vision’s recognizable name and solid track-record have appealed for years, “why is it that the younger generations are connecting with Invisible Children more?” was the question. At the end of the meeting, it was apparent that both non-profits recognized Invisible Children’s ability to use storytelling as the essential ingredient in getting the younger generations to connect with their message. As a result, World Vision recognized it needed to increase it’s use of storytelling to reach younger generations rather than just relying on it’s established name and track record.

In fact, the primary mission of Invisible Children is “to use the power of stories to change lives around the world.”

Storytelling has been around for millenia and now everything from video games, to commercials, to websites, to corporations, to water bottles are harnessing the power of story. As a result, the younger generations are being raised on story. Take video games for example. Long gone are the days when a little ship would shoot at and destroy asteroids…rather, video games today weave a complex storyline throughout that unfolds more like a movie than a game. Halo 3 is the most popular video game out right now among teenagers and its powerful mixture of storytelling and action has created a cult-like following.

Many have recognized that storytelling is the most effective mode of communication for reaching the younger generations…the question is, when will the church, which is consistently late to the party recognize not only the power of story within our present cultural context but also the biblical basis of story?

Next week, let’s interact with the necessary components of storytelling before we move on to the final 3 posts on:

(3) The need to understand and be able to communicate your own story
(4) The need to understand and be able to communicate the biblical Story
(5) How Jesus gives us an example for how we should preach, disciple, evangelize, and train leaders

Until then, here are a few ways to help identify story in everyday life:

1. everytime you see a commercial ask yourself, “what story are they telling?”
2. notice how even trailers to movies communicate a short-story
3. how do you see story being used on websites?