2 – What is Unique (or not) About These Stories?

In this lesson, we look at some things that make strategic stories different from most other traditional media stories. If you’re also working through other lessons on this site, you’ll see a clear emphasis on the big END GOAL of movements of reproducing groups of reproducing disciples of Jesus. Of course, a big goal like that requires many smaller steps and goals.

Our media content should always have both the larger End and the smaller steps in mind. But our individual pieces of content–each smaller story–will likely only really serve the smaller steps, planting seeds, inviting smaller action steps along a journey of faith and discipleship.

Watch this brief video, then take some time with your team to discuss the questions, below.

Reflection

Now that you’ve watched the video, take some time on your own, or with teammates, to think about and discuss these ideas.

1. Think about, and write down the ENDS you want to see. Again, this is driven by field workers and their strategy. It might be:
   • At the early stages, just a person responding to a social media post, video clip, and then asking to correspond with someone safely online.
   • Groups of local people studying the Bible together
   • People agreeing to meet face-to-face for discipleship.
2. How well do the media stories you have created or found from other sources served to direct people to the ENDs you wrote above?
   • What elements might be missing? What kinds of stories do you think might be most effective in drawing people toward these ends?
3. If you’re a content creator, have you ever worked directly with field workers to develop stories that are integrated with a field engagement and follow-up strategy?
   • What challenges and opportunities does it present for you?
4. If you are a field worker, what has your experience been with finding stories that are really effective for your media strategies?
   • Have you tried creating your own stories, or have you mainly tried to find other media resources to use and adapt to your local context?

Take some time to jot down your responses to these questions. Then, feel free to move on the next lesson.