By Justin Rossow
By 10.01 of next year, St. Luke is committed to celebrating 1,001 Stories of Jesus active in our lives and communities. We want these stories to reflect our values and mission, and paint a vivid picture of what Jesus is up to in our lives. We believe that developing eyes to see what Jesus is doing around us will profoundly impact how we see ourselves, our church home, our discipling relationships, and the everyday communities we live in week by week.
The Story Card
The Story Card is a tool to help us celebrate 1,001 Stories of Jesus active in our everyday lives. The Story Card starts with the questions: “What’s Jesus been up to in your life?” Asking that question regularly for yourself and for others with develop a habit of curiosity. We want to wonder where the Spirit is moving, what the Father is providing, how Jesus is at work in the lives of the people around, and how God is shaping, comforting, challenging, forgiving, leading, and calling each of us as individuals and all of us together as a congregation. This is going to be an exciting year of discovery!
The Story Card has a front and a back. The front is a way for you to share what you see Jesus doing around you and asks you to imagine a Next Step Jesus is inviting you to take. The back lets you process what Jesus is doing with a friend. We want to develop a culture where no one journeys alone, and sharing your Story Card with someone else will help you see your story more clearly. Sharing your story also tends to spur stories in other people! We’re all in this together.
We’re asking that you fill out and hand in about 2 Story Cards every 2 months. That kind of thoughtful and regular engagement will begin to have an impact on your faith walk in some powerful ways. And if we are all in this together, the goal of Celebrating 1,001 Stories will be a natural outcome!
You can always pick up extra Story Cards at St. Luke, or check out the image or PDF download, below.
Download a PDF of the Story Card
How to Fill Out YOUR Story Card
If you are wondering how the Story Card is supposed to work, this resource is for you. The RED directions walk you step by step through each section of the Story Card, giving helpful tips and clarification. If you’re still stuck, please shoot us an email at EMAIL. Our job is to help you delight in taking your Next Step following Jesus, so we’d be glad to support you in any way we can!
The Red Story Card directions are available at St. Luke. You can also check them out, below.
Download a PDF of the RED Story Card Instructions
How to Help Someone Fill Our THEIR Story Card
We follow Jesus better when we follow Him together. The Story Card is designed to be collaborative: you identify an area of your life where Jesus seems to be up to something, and then process that with another follower of Jesus. Sharing your Story Card helps give you clarity and helps your friend be more open to what Jesus is doing in their life.
The BLUE directions are designed to equip you with questions and language to help someone else discover more as they share their story with you. As we begin to practice this kind of openness and curiosity about what Jesus is doing in the “safe” environment of our church home, we are developing skills that will help us feel more comfortable talking to people outside of our faith family “out there” in our everyday communities.
The goal of Celebrating 1,001 Stories of Jesus active in and through us is preparing us to see Jesus active outside of our walls in the lives of people you bump into where you work, where you play, and where you live.
The Blue Story Card directions are also available at St. Luke. You can also check them out, below.
Download a PDF of the BLUE Story Card Instructions
The Story Card is a tool, not a rule; the directions should help you celebrate what Jesus is up to in and around you, not focus you on your own efforts. Use the directions and try to follow what they suggest; we’ve received a lot of input and made significant changes with the hopes that these resources will truly be a blessing in your faith walk! And don’t get bogged down in getting everything right. We are trying to capture real stories from real lives, and real lives tend to be messy. Most importantly, take your mess to Jesus and wonder with a friend what he is up to in your life. Even if your Next Step is to wait on the Lord for more clarity, you will find encouragement in dependence on Jesus and relationship with someone who can point you to Him.
