Lausanne World Pulse – Awakening Through Storytelling

January 2008

By Grant Lovejoy
January 2008

(Editor’s Note: According to the International Orality Network, there are four billion oral communicators in the world. In other words, two-thirds of the world’s population either cannot, do not or will not take in new information or communicate by literate means. The following story is an example of ministering in an oral context.)

When someone comes to your door at three o’clock in the morning, it is seldom good news. That’s especially true when government forces and opposition groups have fought for years in your area. After five years of living in and out of the village, José and Isabel¹ had learned to expect the unexpected.

During their first four years, José and Isabel had focused on learning the language, understanding the culture and making friends among the “N” people. They were preparing to translate the Bible into the N language. Then, José and Isabel met Christian workers who encouraged them to use an oral approach to ministry because the N culture is oral. (Oral cultures rely on spoken communication, instead of writing, so they use storytelling, songs and proverbs to pass down their heritage and beliefs.) Their friends encouraged José and Isabel to select and tell biblical stories that would speak specifically to the N culture. They also encouraged José and Isabel to work with members of the community to put the stories into the N storytelling style while remaining biblically accurate.

The Transformation of an Entire People
After selecting the stories that spoke to the N culture and crafting them to reflect the storytelling style of the culture, José and Isabel reentered the village. Scripture spoke with obvious power. All four people who helped translate the biblical stories trusted Christ. A few months later, after the N people had heard the stories from creation through the life of Jesus, they made a unanimous group decision to follow Jesus. Group decision-making is common in the N community.

After the N people had heard the stories from creation through the life of Jesus, they made a unanimous group decision to follow Jesus.

It quickly became apparent that the decision was also a very personal one for many of the N people. One man said, “I was very bad, but now I believe in God. He cleaned me from my bad ways.” After listening to several Bible stories, one young orphaned man wept for over half an hour. He had buried his head in the dirt and said, “Father, Father…Now I have a father.” Hearts were transformed.

Grant Lovejoy is director of Orality Strategies for the International Mission Board (SBC). He advises IMB leaders and field personnel about communication strategies and training approaches for working effectively with oral communicators.