Scott, an editor and writer for the Jesus Film Project, said, “I found myself asking yes/no questions,” after completing an exercise that involved him interviewing a partner to get a story.

On Thursday, Scott and 15 other Jesus Film writers joined me to learn how to ask interview questions that lead to life-changing stories. The group included country specialists who travel around the world to interview local staff members face-to-face about showing the film and planting churches.

The Jesus Film, a documentary about the life of Christ and the most translated film in history, is now available in more than 1500 languages and has been shown in 230 countries around the world. Our staff members and other missions agencies use the film to share the gospel and plant churches.

The stories canbe amazing. But someone has to collect them. What happens when country specialists travel half-way around the world and ask staff members if they have any stories to tell, and the staff members say no?

If a specialist asks better questions, like: “What happened?” Or “What else?” And “Can you tell me about someone who was there,” suddenly, the local staff members remember stories they had previously overlooked.

I also taught a simple story-telling model they can follow, and then we brainstormed open-ended questions they can ask that will lead to concrete information they can use.

Of course, we had to practice. Each person found a partner. Then, I passed out transcripts from two stories that were published in Worldwide Challenge. Each partner role-played one of the people while the other one asked questions.

That’s when Scott had to rephrase his questions so he could get more concrete information. It’s one thing to talk about asking open-ended questions. It’s another to actually do it.

It has been my pleasure to train teams of writers throughout Cru and in other like-minded organizations to write better stories. Thank you for praying for us as we do the work God has called us to.

Last month you prayed for us as we spoke three times and connected with our friends in Pennsylvania. The trip was encouraging. For example, on a Saturday morning we taught a seminar called Writing Your Story for friends from one church. People who attended told us it helped them see their own stories in a fresh way. Now, they have a plan if they decide to continue writing their stories for their children and grandchildren.

Please pray for us this month:

• Pray for the Jesus Film country specialists to ask better questions that lead to stronger stories as they travel and interview people around the world.
• Pray for me, too. I work two jobs. When I’m not training writers, I manage a website and a newsletter that goes to our staff women. Pray that we will serve our audience well and help them grow in their faith.

Let us know how we can pray for you, too. Thank you for praying for us and for funding our work. We’re so grateful for your help as do the work God has called us to do.