Article
The One Story Every Church Planter Must Tell
We plant churches to invite people into this story.
To plant well—to preach, teach, counsel, and evangelize well—we must think rightly about what the Bible is. And what it is not. We know it’s God’s Word; it’s inspired, it’s God speaking to us. I also want you to see—and help others see—what the Bible is not.
What the Bible is Not
The Bible is not like a set of collected works. It’s not just a bunch of books put together with no rhyme or reason. But that’s how some people view the Bible—some books by Moses, some by Paul, but they don’t see the organic unity between the books. Others think of the Bible like an anthology, or a curated Spotify playlist. Put together, but again, one song or one book doesn’t have anything to do with the other. Some people view the Bible like it’s God’s greatest hits.
But this is important to understand, and it will change the way you preach, teach, and read the Bible:
The Bible is a giant story.
What the Bible Is
- 66 books, with 40 different human authors
- 1,189 chapters
- 31,173 verses
- Over 700,000 words
- Written in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Greek, & Aramaic)
- Written on 3 different continents (Asia, Africa, Europe)
- Written over a period of 1,500 years.
- Connecting to the story of redemption.
The Bible really is an epic story. It has a plot, a promise, a plan, and a journey that concludes with a “happily ever after.”
The Bible is far less like an anthology and more like a symphony—every book, every story is in concert, and it all crescendos to Christ, His kingdom, and all that He is, all that He does, all that He gives, and all that He promises.
I want to give you four convictions about the story of the Bible that we need to make clear to ourselves and others.
1. The Bible is a true story.
Sometimes people object to the language of the Bible as a story because they assume “story” is being used to mean a myth, fable, or fiction. The word story has different applications. While the word can be used for fiction, it can also be used for true accounts. I’ll tell you a funny story about my childhood—that’s a true story. It’s history. And this biblical story is 100% true. Every part. God created the Universe, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Abraham, the Exodus, the incarnation, virgin birth, miracles, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus—it is all true. This is history.
2. God is the Ultimate Author.
While there are many human authors in this book, writing to their original audience, God is the chief Author, Writer, Director, Producer, Illustrator, and Architect of every story and the grand story. God creatively works through the various genres in the Bible—like history, poetry, prophecy, letters, and apocalyptic writing—to reveal His story.
3. The Bible is a drama, a love story, and a redemption story.
The Bible has many ups and downs, twists and turns, laments, wars, and stories of transformation and redemption. And ultimately, the story springs from God’s love to redeem and save sinners, to restore and renew what has been ruined by sin.
4. The Bible is an authoritative announcement.
Since God is the Author, this story is more than just informative—it is authoritative. It’s the ultimate reality we are to believe, follow, think, and live according to. And since God is gracious, this story is also an announcement: The creator of all things, Almighty God, is offering you salvation and life with him through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Bible is the unfolding of this announcement. More simply: The Bible is how God saves sinners and brings us back to Himself. Or, how God is fixing the universe. Or, God’s grace in the gospel. There are lots of ways to summarize the story, but my point is that there is a unity to the Bible.
The Story of the Bible
Every story has a setting, people, events, a tension/collapse, a plot, and then the unfolding toward the resolution. The Bible also contains these elements.
In the beginning, the setting is creation, Earth, and Eden. We are introduced to who God is and what He is doing—the almighty Creator creating. The One so powerful that He creates everything from nothing—with his speech. And then we meet Adam and Eve, the first humans. But then a tension is introduced—the Serpent, the Devil, tempts Adam and Eve to disobey God and eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As soon as Adam and Eve eat the fruit, they disobey God, and sin enters this universe. The story takes a nosedive, a literal fall. Sin infects everything in creation.
But God has a plan. In this pit, the plot is introduced. In Genesis 3:15, God announced His plan, the story arc for the Bible. He told the Serpent:
“I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
That’s the plot and framework of the rest of the Bible.
God is saying there will be an ongoing spiritual war between humans and the Devil. But One will be born that will crush the snake’s head and defeat the devil—a fatal injury—and the one doing the stomping, the Hero, He will be wounded … but not forever.
Christ is the hero. The Son of God, coming to earth, living a sinless life, dying in our place, taking our sins, and rising from the dead, bringing his people—those who believe in him—to a new heavens and new earth. That’s the story. He will defeat the dragon. And get the girl—His bride, His church.
As Charles Spurgeon said:
“Wherever this Bible is opened there is a showing of Christ’s death. Why, the whole Book is full of it. There is a crimson line of atoning sacrifice running from Genesis to Revelation … Every distinct book of inspiration is like a mirror reflecting the image of Jesus—“as in a glass, darkly,” it is true; but still sufficiently clear even for these dim eyes of ours.
Scripture has many lowercase s “stories” that make up the uppercase, capital, caps lock, “STORY.”
Why This Matters for Planting
We plant churches because of this story—and to tell people about this story. We plant churches to invite people into this story. We plant churches so people can make this story the story of their lives. We are joining God’s work of spreading the kingdom, and Christ is making people new by faith in Him. As we engage the city with the gospel, we tell people, “Your old story of shame can be rewritten. You can be given a new ending. You can be given His story.”
We have a grand story to tell—to preach, to teach, to evangelize, and to encourage one another. There is hope in this story because Christ has come, Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again. Jesus is on the throne. He is the Savior we need. Jesus is the defeater of our sin, the liberator from shame, the defender of the forgiven, lover of our souls.
The Bible is the story of hope, of new life, of God working all things together for our good and His glory. And through Christ’s death and resurrection, our stories are put in His hands. And the good news continues—we know the end of this story! We see it in Revelation: people from every nation gathered around the throne, worshiping Christ, and enjoying eternity with Jesus.
Planter, there are people in your area who are weary, wounded, and wandering, and they need this story. They need Christ. We plant churches not just to get people in our services, but to tell people this story, and to get them in this story.
Let’s play our part in this story. Serve our King. Spread His message. And prepare the next generation of Christians to do the same.
Remember the grand story of the Bible. It’s the best news.
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