Author: Samuel Chiang

Samuel Chiang on Orality

Samuel Chiang speaks about Orality and the differences between an Oral Culture and a literate one. He guides us through some eye opening excercises and challenges the Church on the importance of adapting to oral cultures at the Issachar Virginia Beach 2015 ...

https://vimeo.com/126963284
Communicating to Oral Learners

Samuel Chiang facilitates discussion about the use of oral communication strategies at the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation, Cape Town 2010

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FYtwbGJVjc
Quick Impact

Jorge is a pastor on the West African island of São Tomé. He used to preach in Portuguese rather than his first language, Angolar, because he was educated in Portuguese — and because it was the only Bible translation on the island for 500 years.

An Appointed Time and Place

Andrew lay on his back in the massive, thatched-roof hut, trying to sleep. The veteran missionary had lived and worked here for 11 years, so it didn’t bother him that total strangers were snoozing close by. That was a typical sleeping arrangement, even for ...

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Love, Marriage, Car Chase

Newlyweds Vincent and Sofia held on in the back of a police Jeep as it charged through side streets and alleys at top speed. In hot pursuit rode a pack of angry men on motorcycles. Frightened, Sofia gripped Vincent’s arm tightly. Where were they going? What...

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A Dreamer

On a night when I was very young and asleep, a huge light hit me through my family’s tent. I woke up suddenly only to discover the light was gone. I wondered where it had come from but went back to sleep. For many nights throughout my childhood, the light c...

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Samuel Chiang on Orality and Missions Today

In this podcast, JD Payne interviews Samuel Chiang, former Executive Director of the International Orality Network. We talk about communicating with oral learners, how mission agencies are embracing oral methods, and his latest book (co-edited with Grant Lo...

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Now I Understand

Your single-prop airplane buzzes low over the palm tree jungle. The pilot turns the yoke and banks into a slow arc. As the plane circles a tree-carpeted hill, you spot it — a grass airstrip running up the middle of a small village. Except for the nearby ri...

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A Costly Presence

God is the Great Storyteller. With grand artistry, He brings forth a beautiful world in a spectacular universe. As the culmination of His creativity, He fashions Adam and Eve. He could have shielded them from Satan’s temptations, warding off evil, suffering...

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Intersection: Stories Impacting women in Ethiopia

Genet Elias is a Bible storyteller in the Esther Project Ethiopia. Following a proven method, she learns stories, practices telling them and encourages other women to do the same. The confidence she gained from Bible storytelling helped Genet share God’s Wo...

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Village by village

To answer God’s call to translate Scripture, Victor and Shanta have followed a long, hard road. They are Indian, but they are far from home. And the cost has been high. The state where they now would live has more than three times the people than their hom...

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Sharing Bible stories in a hard place

“You can’t take my bike — I’ll give it to you.” The man left Abigail alone. And the bike behind. The threat was nothing new to Abigail. The confidence with which she confronted the man is newer.

And it was really beautiful

I wanted a band. I wished we could have our own songs. We have them in Tagalog and English, but not in Ifugao. So we just prayed about it. I said to one of the musicians, “Can you help me find some singers? If we have singers, I will try to find funding f...

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Bible stories come to life

When Banko Myle met a paralyzed woman in her Banna village, he told her a story he’d just learned. It was the Gospel story of Jesus healing the Bleeding Woman (Matthew 9, Mark 5, Luke 8). “Can that same Jesus heal me?” she asked.

Why have you never told me?

The New Testament is being translated into the Xamtanga language, thanks to a partnership between the Bible Society of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Among the 500,000 Xamtanga speakers, 99.2 percent are followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewa...

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Oral Bible Storytelling

Bible storytelling is an entry point for bringing God's truth to people without written scripture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUSfyGIZqUo
Found in Translation: Misikir Mulugeta

“Do you really believe that one needs to be literate to become a good disciple of the Lord?” When we train people to share Bible stories in oral cultures here in Ethiopia, we start with that question.

People are in love with audio Scripture

The audio version of our New Testament, I believe, has brought new hope to our people because I know that our people are not very good in reading. It’s difficult to find someone who has read through the Mwaghavul New Testament, although it has been there f...

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Beyond Literate Western Models

Endorsements As a missiologist and as a father whose daughter is serving a people-group in Tanzania with a completely oral culture, I cannot express strongly enough how significant this initiative is to reach the oral based cultures of the world. This coll...

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