Ep. 97 | Fundraising Storytelling: How to Find Ministry Stories Every Week
A common thing that ministry leaders say is:
“Nothing really happened this month.”
Or…
“I don’t have any good stories to tell.”
Maybe you’ve looked at large ministries and nonprofits and thought, They always have incredible testimonies. People are getting radically saved. Lives are being transformed. My ministry just isn’t like that.
So every time someone tells you to “use storytelling,” you feel stuck before you even begin.
Here’s the good news:
You probably don’t have a storytelling problem.
You have a story-finding problem.
Most ministries are surrounded by stories every single week. The challenge is learning to recognize them before they disappear into another busy week of ministry.
Stop Looking for Big Events
Many ministry leaders assume stories come from events.
A conference.
A mission trip.
A huge outreach.
A dramatic testimony.
Those moments absolutely matter. But they aren’t what sustain your communication with supporters month after month.
Instead of looking for events, start looking for change.
Stories happen whenever something changes in a person’s life—even if that change feels incredibly small.
If nothing changed, there probably isn’t much of a story.
If someone changed, even just a little, you probably found one.
Step 1: Find One Person
Don’t begin with attendance numbers.
Don’t begin with your ministry.
Don’t begin with the event.
Start with one person.
Maybe it’s Sarah.
Maybe it’s a teenager.
Maybe it’s a dad who’s been quietly showing up every week.
Supporters don’t emotionally connect with statistics.
They connect with people.
Compare these two openings:
“We had Bible study on Thursday.”
Now compare it with:
“Sarah almost didn’t come.”
Immediately there’s curiosity.
Who’s Sarah?
Why almost?
What happened?
Stories become memorable because they’re personal.
Step 2: Find the Conflict
Conflict doesn’t have to mean tragedy.
It simply means something isn’t the way it should be.
Many of the most meaningful ministry stories involve internal conflict.
Maybe someone feels isolated.
Maybe they’re convinced God couldn’t love them.
Maybe they’re terrified to pray out loud.
Maybe they’ve been avoiding church for months.
Those quiet struggles often create the most powerful stories because they’re the moments where God begins working beneath the surface.
Step 3: Look for Change
This is where many ministry leaders miss their best stories.
They notice a small shift…
…and dismiss it.
Someone stayed after instead of leaving immediately.
Someone finally asked a question.
Someone smiled for the first time.
Someone made eye contact.
Someone quietly said,
“I think I’ll come back next week.”
Those moments may seem ordinary.
They’re not.
Those are the moments supporters want to witness because they reveal that God is already at work.
Invite Donors Into the Journey
One mistake I see often is waiting until the story is completely finished before sharing it.
We wait until someone has the dramatic testimony.
Until every problem is resolved.
Until everything wraps up with a perfect ending.
But ministry rarely works that way.
Transformation usually happens one small step at a time.
Your supporters don’t need to wait for the final chapter.
They want to walk alongside your ministry while the story is still unfolding.
That’s where hope lives.
That’s where donors begin feeling connected to the people they’re helping.
Your Challenge This Week
Take ten minutes this week.
Think about one person.
Ask yourself:
“Did something change?”
Maybe it wasn’t dramatic.
Maybe it was just a conversation.
A smile.
A question.
A little more openness than last week.
Write it down.
Even if it doesn’t become a story today, you’re building a habit of noticing what God is already doing.
Before long, you’ll realize your ministry has been full of stories all along.
Want Help Turning Those Stories Into Better Newsletters?
Finding stories is only the first step. Knowing how to turn them into newsletters that supporters actually read is where many ministry leaders get stuck.
That’s exactly why I created my free Newsletter Guide.
It walks you through a simple framework for writing updates that build trust, strengthen donor relationships, and help supporters stay emotionally connected to your ministry.
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