Living a new story effectively hinges on making connections with others who have a similar heart for or special expertise in the particular story of need that you want to “share.”
Find a guide
- Enlist the help of an expert or experts “on the ground” who are locally connected to and intimately familiarity with the Problem, group of People or Place to which you feel drawn. For example, if you have a heart for people who are homeless, your potential guides could include a volunteer at your local homeless shelter, a county social worker, a board member of a non-profit, or a homeless person.
- Our wiki serves as a general guide in pointing to well-known authors, websites, and grassroots non-profits who address the “world’s deep hunger.” (As you make helpful local connections, please pass them along to us so we can expand our pool of resources and contacts!)
Form a “circle”
As you live your new story, you’ll need special relationships in your life in which you can be yourself and be real in the midst of the pain and joy that you’re sure to encounter.
- Join or start a fellowship of service, aka a “circle.” There are three ways to start: (1) If you’re already part of an existing small group, ask your group to go through the Listen/Learn/Live process over the next few months. (2) If you’re not part of a small group, invite 3-5 people who you care about — close friends, family members, coworkers, members of your faith community — to go through the Listen/Learn/Live process with you. (3) Invite 3-5 with people who share your passion for a specific need to go through the Listen/Learn/Live process with you. You might find them at school or work, or on an online message board, but regardless of how you meet, the purpose of your “circle” is to spur each other on and multiply your efforts beyond what you could accomplish on your own.
- Join your circle to ours! Through the STS, we’re creating a fellowship of Story-Sharer circles in the hopes of beginning a grassroots movement of ordinary people who are living out their callings of service. When you form a circle, please tell us about it.
