The Big Story, Part 1

2008 Nominee for Outreach Magazine’s Apologetics Resource of the Year. The book — True Story — is available through Amazon and other booksellers.

Free study guide available for True Story from InterVarsity Press.

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Here’s my attempt to explain the Christian faith… in three minutes. Crazy, right? InterVarsity asked me to do it, and here’s the result. I wanted to present a more holistic faith — something closer to the gospel that Jesus taught. This was unscripted, and of course, many details will be painfully left out in such a short amount of time. So it’s not anything close to a perfect presentation. But it forced me to make it concise, so I appreciate the assignment — though I would never share it this quickly in person.

This material is adapted from my books: True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In (for believers) and its companion booklet, Based on a True Story (for seekers). Both are coming out through InterVarsity Press in April 2008, and you can find a blurb on the book at the IVP website. Half of the royalties of the book will go back to the ministry of San Diego InterVarsity, so please pick up a copy when it comes out!

I’d love to know what you think of this. And if you like it, would you click the image (though not directly on the play button) and rate it at YouTube? Or post it, if you like. It would help get the word out.


The Big Story, part 2 (January 31, 2008): A sequel has been made to this video. Check it out!

In Christianity Today (November 25, 2008): The Big Story was featured in Christianity Today, and they have graciously agreed to let me post a .pdf version the article, “just this once.”

Bible study (February 24, 2009): Christianity Today published a bible study on the Big Story. It’s not free, but available for download.

Free study guide (June 15, 2009): InterVarsity Press released a free, downloadable study guide for True Story. It’s ideal for small groups.

Training reposted (June 14, 2010): The training document is updated and available again.

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123 Comments

  1. […] June 14, 2010 @ 9:36 pm Back by popular demand: the training document for the Big Story has been updated and re-released on this website. Blessings! […]

    Reply

  2. […] fictional tales, but the unfolding narrative of our lives.  For followers of Jesus, understanding the big story of what God is doing in the world can change […]

    Reply

  3. check out @jameschoung on evangelism… "The Big Story" – I was impressed: http://www.jameschoung.net/2007/09/17/the-big-story/

    Reply

  4. […] 3 days that we participated in the outreach, we were able to share the Gospel through the “Big Story diagram” almost 100 […]

    Reply

  5. What is the Gospel story? James Choung (an MIT grad) explains it well in 3 minutes: http://tinyurl.com/5jygzy

    Reply

  6. […] you all for your comments on the original video. I appreciate the encouragements. And I’m thankful for those who […]

    Reply

  7. […] see the three-minute interview here. And if you want to see the Big Story in action again, you can check it out here. […]

    Reply

  8. […] Here’s a link to him running through it quickly: The Big Story […]

    Reply

  9. […] in Spokane, WA, created an excellent video from the material in True Story. It’s shorter than mine at just over two minutes, yet still captures the essential points. Definitely check this out! […]

    Reply

  10. Power of simplicity. It has been a high time believers start to look at the simplicity of the gospel and what we should be doing.
    Thank you for the awesome video

    Reply

  11. The Big Story, Part 1 | jameschoung.net http://fb.me/YMDAdfv1

    Reply

  12. This is a very inspirational video. I played it twice and I’ll come back for sure to remind myself of everything you pointed out.

    Reply

  13. […] want to see it in action, you can watch James himself line it out with a Sharpie in a couple of 3- minute videos on YouTube. These are not to be missed. There is also a pocket-sized version from InterVarsity […]

    Reply

  14. I love felt pens too ;-)

    Reply

  15. […] here’s the sequel. In the original video, the presentation ends with a question. It asks the listener to iwith one of the four circles. And […]

    Reply

  16. […] are also other videos where you can see James presenting it himself. ‘The big story’ uses four key […]

    Reply

  17. […] our sins; 4. We must personally accept Christ as Savior), Choung suggests 4 circles (you can see it here). They […]

    Reply

  18. […] our sins; 4. We must personally accept Christ as Savior), Choung suggests 4 circles (you can see it here). They […]

    Reply

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