Spreading the good news to people outside the church, I believe, is best done by example. One cannot (should not) go out to rope people in. Having said that, we now need to look at the examples we are setting. Faith is something deeply personal and people typically come to a faith in times of personal turmoil. Telling personal stories works well in these circumstances.
Bible stories as public narratives are often today only half-understood. People are no longer familiar with Bible stories, or worse, they have some unfavourable interpretations in their heads and have never had the opportunity to inquire about it. I found that may people are dead set to not believe in this God they have heard about, even when told that what they have heard is not quite right. There is a lot of opportunity for re-telling the stories.
Communal narratives seem to be very much neglected. Especially in New Zealand communities may be reluctant to talk about what they are doing (out of modesty). Our Christian background also encourages us not to talk about the good deeds, so many stories remain untold that could give outsiders a perspective of what a community is all about.
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