Orality Missions for the 86 Percent
Orality Missions (there are lots of terms… not going to delve into them) refers to a mission strategy/movement involved (originally) in reaching illiterate people with the gospel of Christ. By illiterate, we would be commonly refer to those who cannot read, in a people group who cannot read.
Traditionally, the strategy for such a group would b for the missionary to help them read. in some cases, like Ola and Minnie Hanson working with the Kachin people, they even came up with a writing system for the people. This is a great long-term strategy. I like long-term strategies. But is there a short-term strategy that can be used now? The answer was presenting the Gospel (and more broadly, the Bible) through oral means— particularly oral storytelling. This seems easy enough at first. Even in literate cultures the most common form of communicating God’s message is oral— preaching particularly. However, it soon became evident that sermons were commonly created by literate people targeting literate people. They tend to teach abstract concepts through structured propositions. They might have stories… but these stories would be either (1) for entertainment purposes, or (2) to illustrate a point. The stories would not really “embody” the message. The presentation must change at every level to effectively reach people groups who do not read.
This concern relates to Primary Orality— those who simply cannot read. Approximately 14 percent of people in the world cannot read. And of that 14 percent, a sizable percentage are people people who live in what is a literate society, and perhaps even a literate people group.
But what about the other 86 percent. Does Orality Missions have anything to say? From the 86 percent one can also consider two other groups. Once can think about Secondary Orality. Actually, I am going to use a little bit different language, because it makes sense to me. Please bear with me.
https://www.amazon.com/Basic-Bible-St...
Group One Orality. These people learn through hearing, watching and doing because they simply cannot read.
Group Two Orality. These people have learned to read at least at at basic level, but are greatly limited in their reading skills. Because of this, and often because their thinking patterns are more inline with Group One, they learn by hearing, watching, and doing. I was just watching a video on Youtube where it made the claim (they cited the source, but I did not check it) that 60 percent of Americans (from the USA) are literate only at 3rd or 4th grade elementary levels… or lower. These people can function adequately in a literate society, but their ability to learn through reading is limited.
Group Three Orality. These people are literate. They may even be highly literate. They, however, learn through hearing, watching, and doing, because that is what they prefer. if a problem comes up, especially a practical problem. They are likely not to seek a written answer. Rather they will seek an oral or visual answer. They are likely to listen to a podcast or watch a video. This number is growing with the growth of non-written materials online.
I am not an expert here, but Group One people definitely learn through stories— plot and characters. Group Two are likely to learn this way as well, far more than by propositions and lists. Group Three, often adept in reading and learning through reading, may be less dependent on stories to learn. That being said, stories appears to be the default setting in our brains. Group Three still uses and values stories, and may still prefer stories as the means to learn.
Group Four. These are people who prefer to learn through reading. They are likely to be highly literate… however, many highly literate people may still prefer to learn without reading (Group Three). Group Four likes lists of principles and categories. They may like stories (as noted above with regards to sermons) to illustrate the abstract (rather than embody it) or to entertain. That being said, if one is discussing a complex aspect of human existence with a member of Group Four, it is quite likely that stories (especially movies or TV shows will be used to clarify.
If 14% of people on earth are Group One, then 86% are in the other three groups. Orality missions is valuable for this larger group. First, many are in Group Two. As noted, the US, a nation with a fairly high literacy rate, has a majority that MIGHT be classified as Group Two. Perhaps the effective number would be lower, but it would still involve a large group. Secondly, Group Three is growing. I blog. I enjoy blogging. it is a written form of communication and learning. i have often thought whether I should start podcasting or doing videos. Truthfully, I don’t want to. I prefer writing, but I may need to change. Finally, stories are pretty universal, so using oral and visual storytelling to guide and inform helps bridge the gap between the groups
The orality movement focuses on stories, and the principles of oral storytelling. Some of the principles work better with completely non-literate people groups. However, many of the ideas and methods are very applicable to the 86%. For me as one who likes to write books and blog, I understand that I may be reaching an ever-shrinking demographic. Next month I am providing a video presentation to a lower literacy group. I started out focusing on principles and arguments. However, I decided to delete that direction and go toward telling stories. I hope that will be more effective.
