Other stories and case studies attest that discipling, church planting and developing leaders are also effectively done by a storying approach. First consider a story that shows effective discipling within an oral, storying approach.

In a dusty village in southwestern Nigeria, "Timothy" serves faithfully as pastor of a young church consisting of Yoruba farmers and their families.27 Three years into his pastorate, Timothy had the opportunity to attend a short course for pastors on chronological Bible storying. There he learned the ancient way of teaching that was new to him. He was encouraged to tell Bible stories in an accurate and interesting way and then lead the group to retell the story, discuss its meaning, and relate the truths to their lives. Upon arriving home, Timothy decided that on the following Sunday he would try out what he had learned.

Because the conference leader had recommended telling Bible stories in chronological sequence, Timothy decided to begin with the story of the creation of spirit beings. He drew on several biblical passages to formulate this particular story as had been illustrated in the short course. After asking them about their creation stories and getting no response, Timothy told the Yoruba creation story. He used that as a bridge to the biblical narration of the story of the creation of angelic beings. He presented it as a story-without explaining it or exhorting the group. Afterward, he asked for someone to retell the biblical story and someone did. Then he asked them questions and led in a dialogue that helped them understand and apply the story.

"It was thrilling to me that someone was able to tell the story and others made corrections," he later reported. "The people were very eager to hear more of the stories. When they began to ask questions that were beyond the story, I did not answer [their questions] but simply told them, 'as I tell more stories, you will discover that yourself.'"

Timothy explained, "I have come to understand that they are more open to ask questions with this method, unlike when I was using the [denominational] Sunday School book. Even the children were answering questions. So it is good for the children too. I have decided to train someone by sharing the story on Saturday with the person so that he or she can share with the children on Sunday.

"I also discovered as I asked them questions and listened to their questions that they were still holding on to their previous teachings of worshipping angels," Timothy explained. "To them the angels are from heaven and can reach God better, so we can pass through them to God. This session has further taught me that they have not understood my topical sermons. It now gives me the opportunity to explain to them things on this issue which I do not normally preach on."

Timothy used the same approach the next Sunday, telling the story of the creation of the heavens and the earth. After this second storying session with them, he commented, "Some of their questions during the session have made me understand that they have not understood many things from the Bible for these three years [that he had been their pastor]."

Timothy discovered several important lessons about making disciples. He realized that to effectively disciple, one must first determine how one's people learn. Although Timothy had pastored his people for three years, he had not been aware that his preaching style needed to match the people's learning style. They lived in a relational culture with a strong oral tradition. They passed on their history in stories and proverbs. Timothy became conscious of the fact that he was a literate pastor trained in literate teaching methods. The methods he had been taught to use worked well among people highly educated in western schools, but they didn't work well in his situation. He decided to return to his cultural roots as well as model his preaching and teaching after the greatest teacher-Jesus.

27 This account is provided by Grant Lovejoy.