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The Lausanne Global Conversation is on the World Wide Open Network

Orality

Oral Cultures

The majority of the world’s population are oral communicators, who cannot or do not learn through literate means, and more than half of them are among the unreached as defined above. Among these, there are an estimated 350 million people without a single verse of Scripture in their language. In addition to the ‘primary oral learners’ there are many ‘secondary oral learners’, that is those who are technically literate but prefer now to communicate in an oral manner, with the rise of visual learning and the dominance of images in communication.

As we recognize and take action on issues of orality, let us:

A) Make greater use of oral methodologies in discipling programmes, even among literate believers.

B) Make available an oral format Story Bible in the heart languages of unreached and unengaged people groups as a matter of priority.

C) ncourage mission agencies to develop oral strategies, including: the recording and distribution of oral Bible stories for evangelism, discipling and leadership training, along with appropriate orality training for pioneer evangelists and church-planters; these could use fruitful oral and visual communication methods for communicating the whole biblical story of salvation, including storytelling, dances, arts, poetry, chants and dramas.

D) Encourage local churches in the Global South to engage with unreached people groups in their area through oral methods that are specific to their worldview.

E) Encourage seminaries to provide curricula that will train pastors and missionaries in oral methodologies.

From the Cape Town Commitment - Part 2, Section IID, 2

Recent Responses

Several times Nat stresses the important point of ’getting it right’. However the sentence, "Literature needs to be taken as literature" betrays a fundamental misunderstanding…
AndrewTWR - 21.05.2013
In Response To: A Bible College Principal Responds to Mark Snowden
I love this article. It is amazing to think as to how God places people at the same place at the right time. While on…
mgabrielle - 05.05.2013
In Response To: Encounters with God
To communicate is to turn common something that is not known by the listener. So, i agree with your points about the importance of understanding…
brother_edward - 09.12.2012
In Response To: A Bible College Principal Responds to Mark Snowden
I love what you have to say about this.  It is very true that Americans are not trained on the importance of orality to some…
careymeawayy - 05.12.2012
In Response To: That All May Hear

Resources

Literacy, Orality and the Web
Literacy, Orality and the Web
By Gilles Gravelle | United States
Article
Topics: Orality
Are We Training Our Pastors Wrong? Or How Can We Train Pastors More Effectively?
Are We Training Our Pastors Wrong? Or How Can We Train Pastors More Effectively?
By Mark Snowden | United States
Article
Topics: Orality
A Bible College Principal Responds to Mark Snowden
A Bible College Principal Responds to Mark Snowden
By Nat Schluter | United States
Article
Topics: Orality
A Pastor Responds to Mark Snowden
A Pastor Responds to Mark Snowden
By Chris Regas | United States
Article
Topics: Orality
A Missionary Responds to Mark Snowden
A Missionary Responds to Mark Snowden
By Billy Coppedge | Uganda
Article
Topics: Orality

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