Engaging Hearts with the Gospel Through Storytelling

With International Translation Day approaching, we are reflecting on how we use translation to share stories and grow faith. Learn more about TWR Motion's latest project strategically designed to speak to the hearts of Thai Buddhists!

With International Translation Day approaching, TWR Canada has been reflecting on the experiences and stories that can be shared and used to grow faith through the work of translation. It is by taking time to understand the necessary culturally relevant details that we can most effectively meet people where they’re at in their faith journeys.

To tell a story in a way that most deeply impacts the intended audience involves knowing the audience and determining how to intersect the context of their cultural background with what the storyteller is trying to teach or convey. This is why it’s important to not only create programs in different heart languages but to really delve into unveiling the experiences of those to whom we are speaking hope. We do this by tuning into the songs of their hearts, listening to their voices and hearing the messages told in their stories.

Stories in Scripture can help people see solutions to their real-life problems and find meaning in their own life stories. Over the last several months, the TWR Motion team has been diving into what Bible stories might connect with someone coming from a Buddhist worldview for their new animated video series for Thai Buddhists.

Powerful storytelling requires expertise in understanding different cultures to be able to determine the stories that will resonate, which is why the team is working closely with church planters in Thailand. “Someone who’s coming in with a Buddhist background, they have a certain way of viewing the world that’s different from our own,” shares Carlos, a church planter in Thailand who is working with the TWR Motion team. “What are the stories that speak to them? We’re looking for the places where the distance between the Buddhist worldview and the Christian worldview are closest.”

As the team creates scripts and storyboards for the animated series, they are presenting the gospel message in a way that is faithful to God’s Word while focusing on the details that will resonate most deeply with a Buddhist worldview. These details allow Buddhists to understand the message and, following the movement of the Holy Spirit, confront what the stories are teaching them. We praise God for how the team is laying the groundwork to tell the story of Scripture, which is building his kingdom in Thailand!

Another aspect of storytelling is understanding where people are accessing stories and information. Thai people are three times more active on Facebook than any nation in the world. Knowing this, we have the opportunity to meet Thai Buddhists on their preferred platform with this animation series. Would you join us in praying for our TWR Motion team as they create this series? By consciously considering heart languages and unique backgrounds that shape our individual stories, we are creating opportunities for enriched expression and spiritual connection.