Global Issue: Orality

Our friend Kim Iannelli recently shared this article http://www.lausanne.org/issue-orality/overview.html and it does a great job of better explaining how the world of missions is changing and how our planned ministry work with YWAM fits into the new model for missions. So for your edification and education we present: Global Issue: Orality

Two thirds of all people in the world are oral communicators-- who can’t, don’t, or won’t learn through literate means. Four billion people in our world are at risk of a Christless eternity unless literate Christians make significant changes in evangelism, discipleship, leader training, and church planting. These four billion people in our world need a customized strategy delivered in a culturally appropriate manner in order for them to hear, understand, respond to the gospel, and reproduce disciples.

However, an estimated 90% of the world’s Christian workers are using literate communication styles that don’t communicate to oral learners. Literate approaches rely on lists, outlines, word studies, apologetics, and theological jargon. Making disciples of oral learners means using communication forms that are familiar within the cultures: stories, proverbs, drama, songs, chants, and poetry. Our 2004 Forum issue group discovered that many churches and workers in relational cultures, have found significant benefits to the chronological Bible storying approach in evangelism, discipleship, church planting, and leader training.

During the Lausanne 2004 Forum in Pattaya, Thailand we formed a Lausanne Task Force on Making Disciples of Oral Learners to explore and implement all practical means to advance the cause of making disciples of oral learners worldwide. The task force began the International Orality Network in Feb. 2005.

We challenge churches and other Christian organizations to join us and ride the next wave of Kingdom advancement by developing and implementing methods for effective oral strategies. Partners, networks, seminaries, mission agencies, conference and workshop leaders, and other Christian influencers are called upon to recognize the issues of orality in the world around them, become intentional about making disciples of oral learners, raise awareness, initiate oral communication projects, and train missionaries and local leaders in chronological Bible storying as an effective church-planting strategy.

Avery Willis, issue group convener and Executive Director of the International Orality Network said, “The Lausanne Conference catapulted the Making Disciples of Oral Learners issue to the forefront of the missions world. With the insights we are gleaning from research and collaboration, our prayer is that it will become as significant as Ralph Winter’s call to reach the “hidden peoples” of the world at Lausanne 1974. Christians have the opportunity to evangelize, disciple, plant churches and train leaders in these unreached people groups of the world in our generation, but only if we use appropriate communication styles with oral learners. The church today must embrace oral communicators as partners--together making disciples of all peoples to the glory of God!”

The International Orality Network

The International Orality Network is an alliance of mission leaders partnering together to make God’s Word available to all oral learners in culturally appropriate ways. ION relates to the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization and is committed to provide oral strategies to communicate the gospel, make disciples, train leaders and enable church planting movements among all peoples in ways that are reproducible by oral peoples. It’s 15 task forces are directed by world missions leaders representing Wycliffe International; International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention; Campus Crusade; Trans World Radio; Epic Partners; Hosanna/Faith Comes By Hearing; Discipling A Whole Nation; The God’s Story Project; The Jesus Film Project; Progressive Vision; The Seed Company; Scriptures in Use (SIU); visionSynergy and Youth with a Mission. All hold to the principles of the power of the spoken Word of God, the progressive revelation of Scripture, cultural relevance, and telling God’s story to all peoples.

More information can be found at http://www.lausanne.org/issue-orality/overview.html