Introduced to Great Plains Conference participants by Adam Barlow-Thompson during the 2026 Healthy Congregations Retreat, the Austin Story Project focuses on story as a relational, medicinal, spiritual practice foundational to Christian communities and essential for spiritual growth. The project handbook seeks to support your efforts to engage the practice of story in a way that deepens trust in God, enlarges our compassion for others, and strengthens our identity as beloved friends of Jesus. The Austin Story Project is an initiative of Austin Seminary funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
We are pleased to make this resource available to Healthy Congregations teams at no cost, but the Austin Story Project has asked us to follow up with those using the materials to gain feedback which will be used to inform continuing improvements.
To help us have a sense of usage and to facilitate follow-up outreach, we ask that you complete the below registration form. Our staff will occasionally reach out to you to ask about your experiences with the project and any suggestions you may have for improvement.
Upon completion of the form, you will receive the handbook as an e-mail attachment (pdf). If you don’t receive the email or attachment, please reach out to Jackie Biggs, jackie@healthfund.org for assistance.
We hope you find this resource as meaningful and valuable as we have, and we’re excited to hear how it goes for you!