OnWard
Storytellers
A community of storytellers committed to telling stories in community and for community—pursuing creativity shaped by truth, craftsmanship, discipleship, and service.
01 - BACKGROUND
Why Do We Tell Stories?
Storytelling is inherently an act of sharing. We create something and put it before an audience, hoping it will be seen, heard, and valued. But that creates a particular temptation for storytellers: the desire to share something meaningful can gradually become the desire to be noticed. Creativity can become individualistic, collaboration can become competition, and the pursuit of meaningful work can become a pursuit of the spotlight.
That is why it is important to continually return to a more fundamental question:
Why do we tell stories? Why do stories matter?
Stories matter because they can help us live well. They can encourage us to remain faithful to what God has called us to in our families, churches, and communities. They can help us find hope in darkness, courage in difficulty, and see our everyday lives in light of greater spiritual and eternal realities. Stories can shape how we live—and how we serve the people around us.
OnWard Storytellers explores what it could look like to build a culture around that shared purpose: storytellers working together to create meaningful stories, encouraging and sharpening one another, sharing their skills and resources, and helping each other bring stories worth telling into the world.
The goal is not simply to build better storytellers. It is to become better storytellers together, in service of something greater than ourselves.
02 - CRAFTSMANSHIP & SPIRITUAL ACCOUNTABILITY
If the message matters, the craft used to communicate it matters as well.
Truth and craftsmanship both matter.
Christian storytelling should not have to choose between theological faithfulness and excellent craftsmanship. We should pursue both.
That means refusing to settle for underdeveloped scripts, shallow characters, weak filmmaking, or unfinished creative work simply because the message is Christian.
But it also means refusing to treat creative freedom as independence from spiritual accountability.
Our stories should be tested in both areas—artistically through honest critique from other creatives, and spiritually through biblical truth and trusted pastoral oversight.
The goal is not to create a committee that controls every artistic decision. It is to cultivate humility: a willingness to submit our ideas to correction, recognize our blind spots, learn from one another, and care more about truth than protecting our own perspective.
03 - LONG-TERM DREAM
What Could OnWard Become?
OnWard Storytellers could eventually become a community of Christian storytellers committed to truth, craftsmanship, discipleship, and service—creating meaningful stories together while investing in the next generation of storytellers.
That dream could take several interconnected forms:
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Create — Produce purposeful stories through film, audio drama, writing, and other creative forms. Some projects may explicitly communicate Christian truth, while others may explore beauty, brokenness, sacrifice, hope, relationships, and other aspects of human experience through stories shaped by a Christian worldview.
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Disciple — Invest in younger and emerging creatives through mentorship, practical experience, spiritual formation, accountability, Bible study, and opportunities to participate in real productions.
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Engage — Look beyond ourselves through screenings, events, partnerships, community projects, evangelistic initiatives, and stories intentionally created to serve people outside our immediate creative circle.
04 - FOR NOW
Start Creating the Culture
The first step is simply to begin practicing the culture we want OnWard Storytellers to represent.
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Gather — Host creative meetups where storytellers can brainstorm ideas, share skills, exchange insights, and encourage one another.
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Create — Help one another bring ideas to life through manageable projects such as concept trailers, short films, scenes, audio dramas, and other short-form work.
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Sharpen — Pursue stronger craftsmanship through constructive feedback on one another's ideas, writing, productions, and finished work.
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Stay Grounded — Encourage spiritual accountability by inviting trusted pastoral counsel and remaining open to biblical correction.
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Collaborate — Occasionally rally around larger shared projects, such as short films, that allow us to combine our skills and create something we could not accomplish as effectively alone.
The goal for now is simple: gather, create, sharpen one another, and begin building the kind of storytelling community we hope OnWard can become.