Stories for Survivors, a NEW online resource for survivors of disaster

Stories for Survivors is a collection of Bible stories with discussion questions created for survivors of disaster. The stories are told without extensive commentary in order to allow personal and group discovery of the spiritual truths in each text that are most relevant to the needs of people who are in crisis and transition. The anticipated release for this online resource is the week of November 20, 2005 on the General Board of Discipleship’s evangelism web site http://www.umcevangelism.org/

Why Bible Stories?

What do you say to children to bring them comfort following disaster?
What anchors your soul when you’ve been displaced from your home?
What gives you stability when you are forced to live in temporary housing?
Where do you find faith?

Survivors of disaster are forced to deal with grief, post-traumatic stress and displacement issues. In a disaster few people pause to pick up an armful of books or sermon notes. Hearing and discussing Bible stories encourages people in crisis to see their unique challenges as stories of faith, struggle and perseverance.

What Are You Doing for the Holidays?

If you are recovering from disaster, the holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, can stir up unwanted grief and emotions. The first Bible story set from the Stories for Survivors collection is designed to help survivors journey with God through their first Thanksgiving and Christmas season following disaster. This eight-story set includes:

Elijah Meets God [Elijah on Mt. Horeb]
Thanks [The Ten Lepers]
Life After Rejection [Hagar]
There are Not Too Many People to Help [Jesus Feeds the 5000]
Victory Over Difficult Situations [Joseph in Egypt]
Preparing for the Birth of Jesus [The Pre-Christmas Story]
The Birth of Jesus [The Christmas Story]
Forced Displacement [Joseph, Mary and Jesus Flee to Egypt]

Suggested Use for Stories for Survivors:

Small groups
Sunday school
Home fellowships
Family devotions
Narrative preaching resource

Options for Bible storytelling:

Designate a Bible storyteller.
Play a recording of the Bible story
Read the printed Bible story dramatically.

Click on the links below for More Information on Bible Storytelling:

Resources and Training Opportunities:

Jack and Doris Day http://www.biblestorytelling.org/
International Orality Network http://www.oralbible.com/
Chronological Bible Storying http://www.chronologicalbiblestorying.com/
Making Disciples of Oral Learners [Occasional Paper -- Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism] http://community.gospelcom.net/lcwe/assets/LOP54_IG25.pdf

Stories for Survivors was initiated as a joint project between the General Board of Discipleship and Jack, Doris and Sam Day of Bible Storytelling, Inc. http://www.biblestorytelling.org/

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Kwasi Kena is the Director of Evangelism Ministries for the General Board of Discipleship. Please direct suggestions and comments to him at kkena@gbod.org.
Copyright © 2005 the General Board of Discipleship.

Any or all of this page may be printed, copied, distributed, reprinted in church bulletins or newsletters, or otherwise used for nonprofit local church use with the inclusion of the copyright citation and General Board of Discipleship evangelism website (www.gbod.org/evangelism) as its source. It may not be used for profit or republication without prior permission. It may not be reproduced on another website, although other websites are welcome to link to it.