Storytelling biblical accounts can be an effective teaching method for a child's spiritual growth chiefly because of the opportunity it gives for making Bible truths come alive.

Through the re-telling of the story, your child is given patterns of conduct to strive for. Do we want our children to reverence age and to be loyal? Let us tell the Bible story of Ruth, the Moabite, who was willing to leave her native land and to work in the fields day by day in order that Naomi might not continue to suffer hardship. Do we want our child to understand what helpfulness means? Tell him the Bible story of the Good Samaritan who was hated because of his nationality.

When to tell Bible stories... Bedtime, rainy days, quiet afternoons, holidays, family gatherings, while enjoying a meal, during a child's playtime, or home school ~ all these times offer opportunities for storytelling within the home. Bible storytelling is also used outside of the home such as in children's Sunday School. Flannel Boards, pictorials and role play dramas do go together quite nicely with storytelling younger grades. Parents and teachers alike can make storytelling useful in teaching practically any subject, but for the lesson at hand we'll go on with the topic of Bible storytelling.

Good Bible storytelling is an art. The children's Bible story must be chosen with the capacities, the interests, and the needs of the child in mind. Younger children enjoy flowers, and all growing things... the account of Creation draws their attention to God's power. Most young children take interest also in home life. We can tell stories of home life, like that one of Hannah who shines forth loving mommy skills by making her son a coat every year. Or how about the mother of Moses, who made a cradle for her baby to save her son's life. For older children, they are inspired by stories of action, adventure, and heroism. Bible accounts such as Abraham pioneering a new land, Joseph a man who was not spoiled by wealth, or the remarkable power of Jesus healing the ten lepers... all of these have strong appeal to older children and most likely turn into their favorite requests.

A wise choice of Scripture is important to the art of Bible storytelling. A wonderful use of the Bible is to impart its great moral teachings to children. The Children's Bible story you choose for your children, will not only give them a pattern for conduct, but through it's strong appeal to their conscience will make them want to be like the hero or heroine of your story. For instance after telling a young girl about Ruth, she now has the example of Ruth's loyalty in her heart, and may draw from the Bible account when a time comes for her to choose devotion or faithlessness. The same effect happens when children are told about the Good Samaritan's helpfulness, David's courageous heart, the Lord's passion and love for all mankind.

There are so many lessons we can gather and teach from the Bible. You'll find that your list will continually grow with each new Bible story you tell. The Bible account you share, may help a child visualize attitudes of trust, love, and devotion of God-conscious people and cause a seed of goodness to be planted in their inner man.

Constructing a Children's Bible Story is Not Hard... If a Bible account is to engage your young listeners, action should begin almost at once. For instance if you are telling the story of Joseph and his dreams, you could start off with: "once a good man had a dream". Telling the story of the Good Samaritan, you could begin with "Jesus told a story of a man who set out on a journey all by himself". Your introduction should be short but long enough to establish the setting.

When it comes to the Bible storyline of your presentation, your audience will enjoy action and the element of suspense trailing through your story until the high point or the "lesson to learn" is revealed. Vivid adjectives and colorful phrases keeps the flow of action moving through your story. In the Bible story of Ruth, there would be no need to explain the harvesting process was done by hand. Instead you could say something like: "The bright sickles of the reapers were shinning in the sunlight. The men grew tired as they cut golden grain, armful after armful. But the hot sun did not slow Ruth down for she was hungry and knew her mother-in-law needed food too." In this way your adjectives and phrases turn into vivid pictures for your young listeners.

When ending your Bible story, simply make the conclusion brief while setting your audience at rest and give them freedom to ponder the importance of the lesson learned. For example, when finalizing the Bible story of Ruth, you could end with: " Ruth was a tenderhearted, loyal friend to her mother-in-law. She worked diligently even though she bore hardship. Her love, faithfulness and respect for God were known throughout Bethlehem. God blessed Ruth, the young widow, for her loyalty and kindness to Naomi. Ruth married the honorable Boaz for he loved her dearly. They had a healthy son and called him Obed. Naomi was a grandmother at last, she was filled with joy and praised God that her family line had not ended in Moab."

If you need an example of how to prepare a Bible story for re-telling, I've put together a "Bible storytelling outline" by using the Bible account of Abram and Lot parting ways (Genesis 13), in which we titled "The Uncle Who Would Not Quarrel". In some Bible stories, like Genesis 13, parts can be memorized word for word if the storyline is rather small and good details are involved. If your text is quite large separated by several chapters, you then should choose "word for word" quotes which are important to tell the story. There's no need to memorize the full text because strict reciting creates distance especially with children. Instead picture the event then decide what's important and use it.

A storyteller must see and feel and know the story if the audience is to learn from it. Any picture which is not clear, and action which is hazy in the teller's mind, will not be vivid and distinct in the listener's imagination. Determine what dialog is important for the storyline to make sense. And be sure to use colorful expressions such as: gestures ~ facial features, body posture and arm & leg movements. (To view that example of how to prepare your story click here. )

If you find interest in storytelling and want to learn a little more about the art of storytelling we've come across a short online "guide to storytelling" by Aaron Shepard. It's a simple guide filled with tips on how you can absorb the story until it becomes second nature. We agree with and add to Aaron Shepard thoughts about storytelling when he writes, "You can tell a story! And the more you do, the better you’ll be. So don’t be shy, take a chance, make the plunge, show your stuff, shift your gears, set the stage, brave the storm, lift your sights—but, whatever you do, TELL A STORY!"

And to it I add... "Especially a Bible story!"

Author of "Plant the Word"
Co-Owner TrainUpChildren.com

If you like to share your favorite teaching method with others, be sure to let us know and we'll add it to our list. We'd enjoy hearing from you and I'm sure others will too ~ just send us an email, contact us.