Biblical Storytelling

What Is Biblical Storytelling?

We don’t call it memorizing; we call it learning the story by heart.

Biblical storytellers follow in the tradition of oral storytellers from long ago. Long before the biblical stories were written down, they existed only in oral form, told out loud to ancient communities that were largely illiterate. Told now to 21st century audiences, the hope is that the sharing of scriptures will create an experience of “here and now” rather than “then and there.”

Biblical storytelling encourages the listener to connect with biblical stories, characters, and themes. Sometimes listeners feel that they are “hearing the story again for the first time.” Through the art of biblical storytelling, Jean and other tellers present biblical texts in creative and theatrical ways. A common reaction to hearing the Bible told this way is, “You made the Bible come to life.” Moreover, Jean is not afraid to demonstrate that some parts of the Bible are actually funny.