An Invitation to Discern Together

Every church has been entrusted with stories of God's work in the lives of its people.

These stories are not only gifts to be treasured, but gifts to be faithfully stewarded—using the faithful means and tools each generation has been given to preserve, cultivate, and share them.

Stories of conversion, suffering, healing, reconciliation, vocation, answered prayer, and perseverance are present in every parish and congregation. Yet many Christians struggle to recognize, articulate, or offer the story God is writing in their own lives. 

Many churches also struggle to intentionally uncover, unlock, and unleash these precious testimonies of God's work for the encouragement of the faithful and the proclamation of the Gospel.

We invite you to consider whether what we have come to call Story Poverty rings true in your own experience of the Church—not a lack of stories, but a lack of their stewardship—and whether a renewed culture of Story Stewardship may be part of God's invitation to the Church in our time.

The Problem

Story Poverty — the stories of God's work are abundant, yet personal testimony is often absent from the ordinary life and formation of the Church. The issue is not that God is no longer writing stories, but that the Church often fails to recognize, steward, and cultivate them.

The Vision

Story Stewardship — A Church that encourages, empowers and equips Christians to faithfully recognize, steward, and offer the story God is writing in their lives for His glory, the encouragement of others, and the proclamation of the Gospel.

The Mission

Serving the Church through the prayerful exploration, discovery, development, and sharing of practices and rhythms that help uncover, steward, and offer the stories God is already writing in the lives of His people, using the faithful tools of the age.

An Invitation

If what you’ve read resonates with you, we invite you to spend a few minutes in prayer with these questions…

Do you believe it is true that the Church is experiencing Story Poverty?

As you reflect on what you’ve read, who comes to mind or heart, and why?

Who would you encourage us to invite into this conversation, and why?

We welcome your thoughts, questions, prayers, and perspective
as we continue discerning this invitation together.

Peace, Hope, and Love,

Todd Miechiels
todd@stewardingstories.com
678 508 0990