The History of HIStory
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;”
(John 5:39 NAS95)
It’s been said, “When God is in your plans, plan BIG.” God gave Bob Calvert, a missionary to the Maasai for the SBC International Mission Board, the idea for using chronological Bible stories on a story cloth to reach the Maasai of Kenya. He never dreamed that it would eventually be used worldwide.
Bob shared his idea for using stories from Genesis through the Gospels with John Shepherd, founder of Calvary Road Ministries, who had been working among the Maasai of Kenya. John located Greg Jackson, a graphic designer and Jim Lewis a graphic artist, and the idea became a reality. Using the partnership of churches with Calvary Road Ministries, several thousand Story Cloths were printed. The first team to use the Story Cloths in the bush of Kenya was in 2004. They saw over 400 Maasai come to Christ the first week.
Since then, there have been over 50,000 Maasai in Kenya come to faith in Christ through bush camping teams from churches associated with CRM. We have also begun working with the Maasai of Tanzania where over 5000 people have come to Christ through the sharing of the stories.
Before he passed away, John Shepherd finished the work on the second Story Cloth on the Book of Acts. CRM teams currently trains hundreds of believers, pastors and leaders each year in numerous countries to use both Story Cloths in evangelism and discipleship.
Stories are also used among Native Americans in the USA and in cow vaccination clinics in Kenya to lead men to Christ who are always moving with the grass and the water. However, there are even more ways God is blessing HIS story.
Several hundred school teachers have been certified to use the stories in their classrooms in Africa, something, unlike America, the governments of other countries encourage. The stories are used to teach the Bible and to help children learn math, science, vocabulary, and reading comprehension through familiar stories.
Our teams are currently working in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, S. Sudan, Zambia, and Asia helping missionaries and pastors use both Story Cloths for evangelism and discipleship. The summary book for the first Story Cloth has been translated into Mandarin, Bemba (the heart language of Zambia), Spanish, and French (for use in the DRC.)
The Stories are also being used in ministries in the USA, including small group and home Bible Studies, children’s and youth ministries, nursing homes and outreach ministries. As volunteers were trained to use the stories, one volunteer said, “For the first time in my life, I understand what the Bible is all about.” What she realized was that the entire Old Testament is a progressive revelation of how God intended to send us the Savior, even as He created the world and put Adam and Eve into it. When they disobeyed God’s command, God said to the woman, in pain she would bear children and to Adam that from the dust he came and to the dust he must return. But, to the tempter He revealed One would come from the seed of the woman whom Satan would bruise His heel, but He would crush his head. God’s plan of salvation was revealed in the story of Noah and in the choice of Abraham who offered a substitute sacrifice for his only son whom he loved. God worked through Jacob, Joseph and Moses to fulfill the promise of sending the Savior. He continued to reveal the plan of redemption through the kings and the prophets, who foretold of a virgin bearing a Child, Who would be born in Bethlehem and would bear our sins. The Gospels are the story of Jesus being born, His ministry, His sacrificial death for us, and His resurrection. Before ascending back to the Father, Jesus commanded His followers to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit with which they would be His witnesses to the whole world. The Bible is HIS story!
The www.historycloth.com website was developed by Alan McAlister and is dedicated to providing resources to share HIS story with the nations. (Matthew 24:14, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come,” NASB.)
Please use the link entitled “Story Cloth 1” to review each of the 42 Chronological Bible Stories. Under “Downloads/Translations” “English,” you may download the summary of the Story Cloth 1 and other resources you can use in ministries and missions. We also have the story summaries for Story Cloth 1 available for download in Spanish, Mandarin, French (DRC), and Bemba (Zambia).
None of this would be possible without those who are willing to go and make disciples of the nations, and those willing to give so that others may go. For opportunities to give and to go, please check the website www.calvaryroadministries.com. You may also order Story Cloths from the SBC, IMB website – https://store.imb.org/ –enter “storying scarf” in search the box”
