Our recent webinars explored the use of orality among Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim communities. Check out the recordings on the OralityTalks website.
Our upcoming webinar on Mar 13 will continue the conversation and focus on Indigenous People.
Our speaker will be Cleonice Barbosa Larsson. She is from Brazil and has many years of experience working among these people.
May 13 @ 8 PM (Manila) | 8 AM (EST)
Media, Compassion, Prayer, Encounters with the Living Word…
- What will we (YOU) do to pray with understanding for that mighty wave?
- Who are the workers, and what are their needs in this bold venture?
- How does Orality help Bridge the Gaps?
Indigenous Peoples??
Indigenous Peoples comprise about 6.2% of the world’s population, live in about 90 countries, and number at least 5,000 distinct groups. They are historically distinguished from dominant groups by their resistance to colonization, their strong connection to the land, and their distinct cultural practices, beliefs, and languages. Indigenous Peoples rely heavily on oral communication and value human, ecological, and spiritual relationships. However, they are among the most impoverished, have the least access to government or social services, and have suffered generations of grave injustices, abuse, trauma, discrimination, and marginalization. Though they collectively speak more than half of the world’s 7,000 languages, their voices have been silenced by a lack of political representation and by the non-recognition of invaluable Indigenous knowledge and skills in academia. The church needs to reach out in love to listen, to heal, and to extend God’s Kingdom among them in justice and righteousness.
Resources for the Discussion
🎞️ 6th World Christian Gathering of Indigenous People
🎞️ Driven from Home | Philippine indigenous people long for their lands
📄 Mātenga, J. (2021). Centring the local: The indigenous future of missions. Together in Christ. https://jaymatenga.com/pdfs/MatengaJ_CentringLocal.pdf
📄 Silitonga, R., & Simatupang, P. (2023). Doing Church Missions in Indigenous Community Poverty-Stricken Remote Rural Areas: Lessons from Indonesia. Pharos Journal of Theology, 104(3). https://www.pharosjot.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_22_vol_104_3__indonesia.pdf
New Orality Training Cohort
We are starting a new cohort of orality training this August at certification, MA, MDiv, and PhD levels with our two partnering academic institutions, Koinonia Theological Seminary in Davao, Philippines and Kairos University in Sioux Falls, USA.
More information at Orality.Academy.
Interested? Let us know at training@orality.academy!
Latest Journal Issue Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026)
Making Abstract Concepts Tangible
This issue explores how storying, relationships, and communal experience can make spiritual truth come alive for high-orality-reliant communities. It ranges from teaching the Trinity in Brazil’s Xingu region to Bible translation in Nigeria’s Ijebu dialect, from Biblical storytelling among Muslims in Oman and Tajikistan to chronological Bible storying among Tibetan Buddhists and Thai communities. Our contributors show that faithful, effective ministry most often does not begin with written materials, but with listening, presence, and the timeless power of story.
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