Sharing Through Stories

I volunteered at the VCF x Cru booth on 5 February during NUS intercultural mOSAic week, with my main role being to facilitate our choose-your-own-adventure (CYOA) activity. The activity walked visitors through a simplified, contemporised version of a chosen Bible character’s story – the focus was to establish how relevant the experiences and struggles of Bible characters remain and demonstrate how the universal stories and themes of the Bible serve as a source of guidance and encouragement for us.

I had some wonderful experiences with visitors to the booth, from people who were genuinely exploring the faith and asked a ton of questions, to those who were simply curious and had never heard these Bible stories before. Honestly, I was surprised by how natural the stories felt; it was so encouraging to see a good number of visitors respond positively to the lessons and wisdom of the Bible stories. The busyness of Martha especially seemed to be something quite a few students resonated with, and it was a great way to segue into talking about how we Christians find rest in our relationship with and dependence on Jesus.

Riding the rollercoaster of life with God by our side – a dance

I tend to be very cautious about the way I share my faith; there is always the fear that I might use too much ‘Christianese’ and come across as preachy, or that people would just want to pick a fight. Through my experience at mOSAic, however, I came to realise that people are more open to hearing about the Christian worldview than I had thought.

Benjamin (left) and another student in dialogue

More than that, I also found that when prompted to openly share about my faith, sharing from a place of love for whoever I was talking to, and with humility, was crucial. With every visitor, I made it a point to remind myself that they were each a beloved child of God with storied, complex lives, not a point of view to disagree with. I tried my best to share my perspective in a non-imposing manner, framing it in an ‘I’ve experienced this, and it’s genuinely amazing’ style rather than with a didactic ‘This is absolutely true’ approach.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience – it was refreshing to see non-Christians responding so positively to the Bible, and it was a great opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and openly share my beliefs with people of different worldviews. I was blessed!

– Benjamin Liew, NUS English Literature, Year 2