When Christian workers follow these principles, non-Christians are more likely to give the gospel a hearing, more likely to respond in faith to it, and more likely to spread it enthusiastically to their friends, relatives and neighbours. In the Togolese town of Kpele-Dafo, for instance, the hamlet sprang to life when the message came: "The storyteller is coming!"8 The sound of drumming announced the coming of the storyteller. Men left their game of adí, tailors closed shop, and yawning children roused themselves. The drumming intensified as the storyteller took his place in the center of the village, where he seated himself on a low, carved bench. The elders of the village arrived in their finery and the animated storyteller, Antoine, exchanged ritual, formalized greetings with his audience. The fetish priestess, clothed in white and wearing her horsehair amulet, stood near, watching intensely.

As night fell and the logs crackled in the fire, Antoine began in melodic, poetic style: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..." When he reached the repeated phrase, "And God saw that it was good," he sang a song composed in their familiar call and response style. He sang a line about God's creative work and the villagers sang back, "And God saw that it was good." The villagers quickly memorized their part and sang it enthusiastically. Before long, the villagers began dancing too, to express their delight at this God who created a good world. The village headman joined in the dance, signaling his approval of the story and the event.

Antoine continued his story long into the night, accompanied by the sound of drumming and joined in his song by the villagers. When the fire had burned low and the story song finally ended, no one wanted to leave. The whole experience had engulfed them. A new truth was dawning and their world would never be the same. Antoine returned many times over the next several weeks, bringing story after story in this way stories about Abraham and his sons, about the other prophets, about Jesus and God's community. These stories spoke to the villagers' longings, needs and practices, prompting long conversations with Antoine and among themselves. Gently but firmly the Holy Spirit used the stories to do his transforming work. In time extended families made God's story their own story, the God of the Bible their God. A fetish priest burned his amulets, talismans and jujus because he no longer needed their protection.

The same storytelling approach was used to bring about the surrender of strongholds and for discipleship. Through Bible storytelling the word of God came to life in the African context. The biblical stories continued as the people of Kpele-Dafo grew in their newfound faith, meeting in house churches and taking this message to neighboring villages. The same process has now taken place throughout the Volta region of Togo, Benin, and Ghana, resulting in a movement of people to Christ.

Five key principles were at work at Kpele-Dafo.

• The word of God is more effectively communicated through appropriate cultural relationships.
• The word of God will be best heard and understood when we use appropriate oral strategies.
• The word of God is most effectively proclaimed when worldview issues of the unreached are addressed; stories and other cultural forms do this more effectively by inviting listeners to identify with the message.
• The word of God changes individuals, cultures, and worldviews.
• The word of God can be passed along by ordinary Christians if they receive it in appropriate oral forms.

In both these cases the use of familiar, accepted forms of communicating helped to make the biblical message less foreign. People could easily participate in the event. The word became readily available to them. They entered into the stories and the stories entered into them.

In many parts of the unreached world, there is open hostility to evangelistic activity. Crusades, mass evangelism and public preaching are not welcome. Bible studies and open witnessing draw negative responses. In these situations storying can be more fully appreciated. Storying is not confrontational. It is not preaching. It is not overt teaching. It is merely conveying the stories of God's Word, dialoguing about them and leaving the results to God! Most of the time the hearers do not even realize that their values are changing until they can no longer deny the truth. His word says that it will not return void or empty. So, the power of His word, combined with the power of the Holy Spirit, does amazing things! These stories can go where the printed Bible sometimes cannot go. They can cross borders, enter jail cells, even go into the heart of Muslim, Hindu, animist or socialist homes! They can penetrate the heart of the one listening and change that person's life for eternity.

8 This story is from Carla Bowman, Communications Bridges to Oral Cultures (Tucson AZ, Scriptures In Use, 2004).