Craft2Tell is a methodology for oral Bible Storying developed in South Asia. It strives to enable believers from Bibleless languages to tell natural Bible stories in their mother tongue, in order to share the message of God’s love, to build His church, and to transform individuals and communities.

The name Craft2Tell describes two key elements: “crafting” and “telling”. The telling of a Bible story is not the same as reciting memorized Scripture. The process of going from a written Bible passage (often in the language of wider communication) to an orally presented story in the mother tongue is called crafting. The crafting process includes an internalization of the passage through group discussion and creative activities such as drama. Once the storytellers have become fully familiar with the passage and its meaning, they practise telling the passage as a story.

These crafted stories are checked by consultants to safeguard exegetical accuracy. After this the stories are tested for comprehension in the field. Test results are shared with the consultant and if needed, corrections are made. Stories are recorded and made available digitally, but the main focus remains on "live" story telling.

You can also read about this process in story form, in Christopher learns about story telling


This methodology is adapted from OneStory and is also indebted to The Seed Company's Oral Bible Storytelling program for ideas. It developed during the running of language projects in South Asia under the partnership of the 'Last Command Initiative'. Since 2012 this method has been used, tested, and improved upon among more than 100 language communities in multiple countries. 

A storyteller presenting the birth of Jesus story in a church at Christmas

A storyteller leading an all-night song and storytelling event in his church

For more information, contact storying@lci-india.org.  


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