June 7, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Today in our world there about 4 billion oral learners—people who can’t, don’t, or won’t take in new information or communicate by literate means. That’s two-thirds of the world’s population. Yet an estimated 90 percent of Christian workers present the gospel and discipleship teaching in literate forms. They use the printed page or expositional, analytical, and logical presentations of God’s Word. In most cases, this requires or assumes the ability to read and makes it difficult, if not impossible, for oral learners to hear and understand.
The Alliance and other like-missioned organizations must address these realities head on if we hope to complete the Great Commission task and prepare for the return of our King. Accordingly, The Alliance is entering into a strategic, dynamic partnership with OneStory.
OneStory works with mother-tongue speakers to develop and record worldview-sensitive, chronological Bible “story sets” for specific unreached groups — typically 40 to 60 stories in a two-year period. Mother-tongue speakers spread the stories to others. These story sets form the beginnings of an “oral Bible” to be told and retold for generations.
Along with the development of story sets, other essential outcomes for a two-year OneStory Quest project include:
- Training mother-tongue speakers to tell the stories within their people groups to facilitate evangelism, discipleship, and church-planting movements.
- Audio recordings of the stories archived for reference (to keep stories accurate), for distribution through broad sowing (listening groups, audio tapes, CDs), and for use in radio broadcasts.
- Documentation of the project’s worldview research, reviews for biblical integrity with supporting notes, and description of the project results.
- Planning for follow-up ministry by the partnering agencies and the established local church plants.
OneStory’s goal is to be a catalyst in initiating such work in more than 5,500 UPGs (unreached people groups) by the year 2020.
“I am delighted that The Christian and Missionary Alliance is a part of getting the good news about Jesus to oral learners in ways they can understand. When I think of the millions upon millions of oral learners in our world today, I see this as absolutely strategic for the advance of the Kingdom. We embrace the OneStory method as a way God is at work in all of this and are excited many of our international workers and partners are being trained in it. May increasing honor come to Christ as more and more oral learners around the world become His disciples!”
Dr. Gary Benedict
President, The Christian and Missionary Alliance of the United States
For more information, visit onestory.org or contact Esther Hsu at [email protected].
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