God's Story, Grandparents, and Raising Leaders
Praise & Prayer Report #2, March-April 2026
God's Story Recordings in Nigeria
In March a team of four God's Story specialists traveled to Nigeria to work with 13 teams to
translate and record 13 languages of God's Story: From Creation to Eternity. We thank the
Lord that 11 of those languages are completed and the other two languages are being
translated. We plan to record the remaining two languages the next time our team returns to
Nigeria. Sadly, some of the team members contracted malaria and another got typhoid, but
we praise the Lord that they are better now. These heroes remind me of the spiritual battle
many face to complete the God's Story program in their language.
Please continue to pray as we work diligently to complete God's Story in the languages of
Africa, Asia and elsewhere. Nigeria alone has more than 520 languages.
Grandparents Have Experiences to Share
Three of us recently traveled to Texas for the Legacy Grandparents Conference. What a
blessed event! We met many grandparents looking to reach their grandchildren with the
Lord. They want a relationship. Some grandparents we met described having a strong,
godly relationship with their children and their grandchildren, while others do not. Many
grandparents loved the idea of doing the God's Story puzzle with their grandchildren and
reading the stories from our Illustrated Children's Book that go with the puzzle. There are
instructions for turning the completed puzzle into a Bible storytelling game. The game
gives grandparents another opportunity to spend time in the Word with their
grandchildren.
Our team told many Bible stories throughout the two days of the conference. A woman
volunteer from the church that hosted the conference heard the storm story from Mark
chapter 4. She was so impacted by that story that she returned to our table the next day
and excitedly shared, "I can't stop thinking about that story! I told it to my husband. I went
to sleep thinking about it. I woke up thinking about it. And I'm seeing new things I've
never seen in that story before."
Please pray for us as we follow up with contacts we made at the conference.
Leaders Gather in East Africa
We thank the Lord that our Simply The Story Comprehensive Leadership Training (CLT) is
taking place again this year in East Africa. At a CLT, leaders from multiple countries gather
together to deepen their skills for training others in the STS oral inductive Bible study method.
This month people from Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and several other African
countries are meeting to grow in their skills, dig deep into the Bible, and become better
equipped to share the Bible with others.
The Comprehensive Leadership Trainings from past years have resulted in building up teams
in various countries that are able to conduct STS trainings without outside help. The loving
fellowship that takes place during the CLT not only creates ownership of the STS method, it
strengthens the bonds of the teams throughout the region. The leaders are strengthened in
their faith and they grow in their sense of responsibility to hear and obey the Word of God.
Please pray for the CLT. Pray that the Word of God transforms the hearts and minds of each
participant. That they grow in the Lord, and also that everyone remains healthy during their
time together.
Brazil, YWAM and Two Months!
Over the past few years teams, of STS trainers have been traveling to Brazil to train many
people at several of the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) bases. The results have been
astounding! You can read about some of the exciting results in our Prayer & Praise Reports
from the past year on our website.
We have a very special opportunity for two of our instructors to work with YWAM in Brazil for
a few months. They will train many of the people at several YWAM bases in the Simply The
Story process. Along with teaching the Bible study and storytelling process, they will also
teach how to use STS in day-to-day activities and outreach. The ultimate goal is to raise
instructors at the various bases so that leaders in YWAM can begin to train their own people
in STS.
Please pray for our team to stay healthy and for wisdom to know the best schedule and
process to raise leaders in STS.
Dr. Larry Dinkins Shares about Orality
Dr. Larry Dinkins, a longtime STS instructor and Operation Mobilization missionary to
Thailand, was interviewed about the need for oral teaching methods and how ministries like
Simply The Story are meeting this need. Click here to hear Larry explain why stories are
such a powerful tool for reaching the world.
Online Bible Studies Raise Leaders in Central Asia
Daisy, an STS Lead Instructor in Central Asia, has been meeting online with a woman she
met at a conference this past winter. During these online sessions, Daisy has been training
this woman in STS. Between their sessions, this woman shares the Bible story they studied
with two or three groups of believers she meets with regularly.
Daisy also leads a couple of small online groups, training them with STS. A woman in one of
the groups became so skilled that Daisy handed off the leadership of the group to her.
Another of Daisy's groups is a gathering of Mugat women (Central Asian "gypsies"). The
Mugat are an unreached minority people group among whom God has started to powerfully
move. Several years ago we completed God's Story in the Mugat language. This is the only
piece of biblical material in the Mugat language. A translation of the Bible has not yet been
started among these people.
Praise God with us for how He is using Daisy to share His Word and to train others to do the
same.
God's Word Impacts the Rural Philippines
A letter came to our office recently about Megavoice solar audio players carried to the
Philippines. We praise God for his goodness.
They wrote, “Thank you all for your help to get these players made! They are being put to
good use in rural Philippines!”
The pastor who led the mission trip to the Philippines shared that Anna, a school principal for
over 100 tribal kids, came to her Christian school just to know Christ and get a high school
education. The solar players provided the perfect fit for her students who don't know how to
read. Anna was overjoyed to receive the solar players.
Pray for Anna as the principal, and pray also for these students to grow in their faith.
Upcoming Workshops in the USA
We have several trainings coming up throughout the USA. Click here to visit our website to
see all the details:
Lexington, Kentucky, Friday-Sunday, May 1-3, Foundational training
Lexington, Kentucky, June 25-27, Advanced training
Warsaw, Indiana, July 8-11, Foundational training
West Bend, Wisconsin, July 15-18, Foundational training
Starting September 2026, an 8-session, weekly Online STS Ministry That Multiplies
training
Hemet, California, January 18-22, 2027, Advanced training
Hemet, California, January 25-29, 2027, Full In-Depth or 3-day Foundational training
We would love to see you at any of these training sessions.
If these times don’t work for you, consider hosting a workshop at your church. With a
minimum of six people ready to learn STS, you can have a workshop. Click here or call our
office to learn about hosting a training in your location.
New God's Story Visuals - We would Love to hear from You
As we work to update the visuals of the God's Story video, we need your help. Our final
samples are ready for feedback. The audio of God's Story remains powerful. However, the
visuals have become outdated. To keep God’s Story: From Creation to Eternity a powerful
tool for sharing the gospel for the years to come, we are updating the visuals. Please take a
few minutes to watch the short 20-second samples and share your thoughts. We are
gathering input from all ages, various backgrounds, and different countries, so feel free to
share the survey link with anyone you would like.
Click here to see samples and share your feedback.
God has provided nearly half of the funds needed to redo the visuals. If the Lord leads you to
donate towards this project, please use the link at the top of this page to donate on line.
