The staff at our church put together a brief gospel document, “The Story,” as part of our evangelism training several years ago. It uses six “C” topics to cover God’s redemption plan: Creation, Curse, Christ, Cross, Re-Creation, and Commitment.  Maybe some in the congregation were uncomfortable with “another tract,” Maybe some were leery that it would be too simplistic – too much milk and not enough meat, and of course some were disappointed that Re-Creation starts with an “R.” 

Contrary to the objections, I have found The Story to be a foundational launching pad for preaching the gospel to myself and to others. There is a one-page description of each of the six topics, ending with God’s good news being “for those who turn from their sin and put their trust in Jesus. None of us deserves God’s mercy, but we can get right with God through Jesus Christ.”  Each word also has its own page, with a longer explanation and scriptural references. And the booklet concludes with an invitation to weigh your response to the good news and then next steps if you are attracted to or believe the message.

                The Story’s six words and basic descriptions are easily memorized, providing an anchoring gospel focus anywhere.  Exploring the references, like any Bible study, leads to a deeper, more profound appreciation of the wisdom of God.  And the timeline approach allows a nice categorization for additional Bible passages.  The organizing is not just for adding more information; it allows one to pull out a portion that fits the current conversational context and then tie the conversation tightly to the basic Christian core, like Paul does so many times in Acts and his epistles.   It has been a pleasure to build on 6 C’s with a little meat and explore lots of messages with seasoned meat in each.