Community Stories Evolve and Yours Should Too

When I work with communities struggling to attract new members or maintain engagement, I've often enough discovered they're telling yesterday's stories to today's people.

The original story served its purpose.
It brought together like-minded individuals who shared specific goals and values at a particular moment in time.

And communities, like people, grow and change.
For example, racing cyclists aged out of competition but didn't want to lose the friendships.
New members joined who value connection over competition.
The community's needs shifted from winning races to enjoying rides, from exclusivity to inclusion, from proving something to enjoying together time.

The Church That Couldn't Tell Its Own Story

I once visited an imposing church building in New York City, the kind of complex that spans an entire city block and seemingly designed to impress rather than welcome.

Walking up to those massive doors, I felt overwhelmed by the unsaid message, "This place was built by and for the wealthiest people in the world." It is a monument to financial power rather than spiritual community.

When I met with the head priest, he passionately described their deep commitment to social justice.
"We were heavily involved in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa," he explained with enthusiastic pride.
"Our congregation has been a pillar of equality and justice work for generations."

I paused before sharing my honest reaction: "That's a beautiful story, and I'm grateful you're telling me this now, in your office, during our scheduled appointment. As a visitor seeking to recognize what your church community stands for, I had no access to that story. All I experienced was a building that seemed designed to exclude people just like me."

The disconnect was profound.

Here was a community with decades of meaningful social justice work and stories that could attract exactly the kind of members they wanted. And they never considered how to make those stories accessible to visitors.

The Three-Part Framework for Community Story Curation

As communities mature, you want to be intentional about three key ideas in using stories:

1. Make Stories Accessible

People who want to join your community need access to the stories that tell them about the Community's core values and intentions.
Choose any medium, newsletters, blog posts, interviews, or even casual conversations, to consistently share stories that help people understand how the values show up in the culture.

A cycling club can share stories about their evolution from racing to recreation, helping new members recognize that winning is no longer a top priority and how much friendship appreciation is.

The church could display photos and brief stories about their social justice wins, losses, and heroes right in the entryway, immediately highlighting their justice values to every visitor.

2. Create Time with Elders

If certain stories are crucial for new members to understand how you do things, why you do them, and what you've learned, then you need to arrange intentional time for newcomers to hear these stories from community elders.

This doesn't require formal mentorship programs.
You can consider simply ensuring new members spend time with long-term members during onboarding, or creating casual opportunities for story-sharing during regular gatherings.

If newcomers aren't getting access to foundational stories, let's not act surprised when they struggle to understand or connect with the community culture and priorities.

3. Curate Intentionally

Which stories are you choosing to emphasize?
The imposing church building was sharing values about wealth and exclusivity, completely overwhelming any hidden story about justice and welcome.
What stories are told in your community space?
What stories emerge from your regular activities and interactions?
Are these the stories you want new members to hear? Do you need to be more intentional about highlighting different aspects of your community's identity and values by revealing formative history?

From Origin Stories to Evolution Stories

Evolution stories are just as powerful as origin stories, sometimes more so.
They communicate that your community is alive, responsive, and welcoming to new chapters.
They help current members understand how they fit into an ongoing experience rather than feeling like they need to conform to a historical ideal.
They signal to prospective members that there's room for them to contribute to the community's continuing maturation.

The Practical Path Forward

If you're responsible for growing or nurturing a community, start with observation rather than creation.
What stories are already being told in your community?
Which ones seem to resonate most strongly with current members?
What stories do newcomers hear, intended or unintended, when they first encounter your community?
Then consider accessibility.
How can people who want to join your community access the stories that matter most?
This might be simpler than you think: a newsletter highlighting member stories, informal mentorship pairings, or even just focusing more intentionally about the stories shared during regular community gatherings.

Show thoughtfulness about which stories you choose to amplify and how you make them accessible to the people you most want to reach.

Your community has stories worth telling.
The question is: are you telling them in ways that serve both your current members and the people you hope will join you?

Get free resources on building the community you long for at www.charlesvogl.com

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