Much evangelism bypasses ears of oral cultures

     "The Gospel is being proclaimed to more people than at any other time in history, yet many of those to whom it is being preached are not really 'hearing' it. ... Only a few presenters of the Gospel have the slightest idea that there might be a problem," Dr. Jim Slack.(1)

     To understand the barriers to clear communication of the Gospel in multilingual countries with low literacy levels, we must consider how oral cultures such as Guatemala’s learn and understand truth.

     Christianity has been present in Guatemala for hundreds of years, yet pervasive if not growing criminal elements, public malfeasance and vigilantism reveal the church’s lack of influence in transforming a culture. Guatemala is sometimes touted as the most evangelical country in Latin America, some statistics presenting it as 40 percent evangelical or greater, nearly all the rest professing Catholic Christians.

     Yet a recent nationwide study done found an alarming lack of mature Christians among evangelicals, suggesting syncretism is diluting the church’s strength and preventing its adherence to biblical Christianity. Just 12 percent of professing evangelicals can be considered truly Christian, according to the study by SEPAL (Servicio Evangelizador para America Latina) under the support of the Evangelical Alliance of Guatemala. (2)

     "To understand how this failure is occurring, it is necessary to examine the dynamics of discourse,” Slack states. “Discourse is a two-way street. Both the preacher’s presentation of the Gospel’s message and the hearer’s understanding of that message are involved. Dramatic differences in the levels of literacy between the presenter and the hearer can be fundamental barriers to effective discourse."

     "Only a few presenters of the Gospel have the slightest idea that there might be a problem. On the other hand, most of the hearers affected by the problem know there is a problem. Caught by this problem are the oral communicators of this world — illiterates, functional illiterates, and semi-literates — and those church leaders who preach and minister to them."

     Modern day Christianity in Guatemala continues to be a mixture of ancient Mayan beliefs, Spanish Roman Catholicism and Evangelicalism. This syncretistic process began soon after Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 1500s. Religious leaders’ decided to focus their evangelistic efforts on establishing an "external cult of God and the saints," states Richard Morgan Szybist (3). Thus, Mayans substituted Christian saints for local gods, channeling the practice of idolatry into a Christian form. As a result, pre-Colombian beliefs continued to coexist and mix with Christian theology. "This synthesis was not an event that took place in a single point of time, but rather was an ongoing process, with a life of its own," Szybist states.

     Evangelical ministries, with their Western teaching styles rely on expositional preaching, ill suited for oral cultures. These have tended to focus on changing the behavioral level of individuals—leaving the person’s worldview basically unchanged.

     In order for a non-literate person to truly "hear," he or she must be able to understand what is being communicated, be able to act on it, and finally, remember it. For oral cultures, truth must be communicated in stories, narrative, songs and drama. Jesus Christ illustrated this by teaching through parables. "It is through the use of narrative, through stories, that the worldview of a person is changed," states Dr. Grant Lovejoy. (4)

     "If ministers, missionaries, and other church leaders do not respond to the communication needs of oral communicators, as many as one-third of the people of this world will never "hear" the Gospel of Jesus Christ," Lovejoy states. "It is frightening to think that witnesses to Christ’s saving Gospel could come face to face with an oral communicator only to discover later that a literate communication format stood in the way of the oral communicator’s understanding and ability to internalize what was "heard." The challenge to learn the skills of "orality" has staggering implications for ministry. I cannot help but wonder what might happen if Christian evangelism and prophetic ministry took form in oral expression and in faithful folk theologies."

     Viña Association is committed to producing Scripture materials appropriate for oral cultures, materials useful for discipleship to produce a biblical worldview, resulting in lives transformed and cultures redeemed. For more information on the subject of orality, follow the links below.

• (1) "The Realities of Orality and Literacy In This Century" by Dr. Jim Slack, adjunct reading from the Oral Bible Forum Albuquerque, New Mexico July 10-12, 2003.
• (2) Proyecto Josue: "Estado de la Iglesia Evangelica en Guatemala" Enero 2003, Reporte Actualizado.
• (3) "The Imprinting of Christianity on Maya Culture." by Richard Morgan Szybist. REVUE magazine, page 84, year 11, No.8, Nov. 2002.
• (4) Dr. Grant Lovejoy, "Orality and the Unfinished Task" presentation at the "Second Consultation on Orality" December, 2002, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

For more information on the subject of orality

     A missionary to the Tzutujil Mayans of Guatemala discovered some of these truths the hard way.
           The Tzutujil and the Butlers: A lesson in orality

     To further understand how pivotal the issue of orality is, read two interesting articles on Guatemala and the importance of what Viña is doing, in Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada’s Word Alive magazine "Long Night’s Journey into Day" and "Doing What Comes Naturally"
           Word Alive magazine "Long Night’s Journey into Day"
           Word Alive magazine "Doing What Comes Naturally"

     Chronological Bible Storying resources are provided by the International Mission Board (IMB) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS).  Both are agencies of the Southern Baptist Convention and supported by the Cooperative Program.
           Chronological Bible Storying

     The International Orality Network connects people who are reaching oral communicators as well as unreached people groups (UPGs) to storying and storytelling resources and training.
           The International Orality Network