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A Word from the International Director (February 2021)

ION exists for action.  Yes, we talk, teach and promote orality and oral strategies.  In this new era everything we talk about, teach or promote expects intentional synergistic work – collaboration to reach the oral majority.  Often that process & progress ...

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Save the date! 2021 ION North America Regional Conference

October 13 - 16, 2021 in Houston, TX The 2021 ION North America Regional Conference will be a unique, hands-on experience, and it is open to all people interested in sharing the Gospel and making disciples.Join an amazing global orality community of le...

A New Day in India

We now face the most difficult days in the recent history of India.  Our president is bound to establish our country as a Hindu nation following the demands of Muslim and Buddhist countries all around him.  Yet these are possibly the best days the church of...

How to Prepare Your First Bible Story

Bible storytelling is a skill that most of us are not born with. It’s hard the first time but will get easier the more stories you learn. Here is the basic process.

Story Sticks

The Storytellers Bible project is an initiative of Blazing Trees. We are innovating Bible resources for frontier missions. We believe that all anyone needs to make disciples is God’s presence and power through the indwelling Holy Spirit and the stories of t...

ION North America Region Conference 2021

We are pleased to announce that the next ION NAR Conference will take place in Houston, Texas, in Fall 2021!

The Return of Oral Hermeneutics

Have Western exegetes turned an Eastern book into a Western one? Does God require all people to be able to analyze grammar to interpret Scripture? Does God assume all people can interpret Scripture through oral means?

Missionary died thinking he was a failure

In 1912, medical missionary Dr. William Leslie went to live and minister to tribal people in a remote corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After 17 years he returned to the U.S. a discouraged man – believing he failed to make an impact for Christ...

Zealous for the things that matter

“I was trained by David Watson,” my friend said over lunch. “My mentor in Disciple Making Movements was so and so,” I replied. A bit later I added, “I also learned under Ying and Grace Kai.” George Patterson was another person whose name came to my mind. Wa...

Orality Research Primer

Walking the intersection of science and faith Prepared by Adriana Donaldson, Charles Madinger, Nicholas Nickl, and Emily Pohl  A Primer for Research in Orality Go ye therefore, and teach all nations Matthew 28:19, KJV Congratulations for havin...

Toronto 2019 Resources

Sign-Up Connect with us here to receive the International Orality Network monthly e-newsletter and other updates.   2019 Toronto Conference Resources Main Session Recordings: uploads pending—check back soon!Thursday Friday Saturday ...

If Only God Spoke My Language – Introducing Render

Imagine this: You’re sitting on a worn, wooden bench—or even the floor—of a tiny church in a rural community. Maybe you walked hours just to be here, carrying the weight of the troubles from this past week into this place of rest. Your feet hurt, your lips ...

ION Africa Conference: Togo 6 – 8 November 2019

We are pleased to announce our upcoming ION Africa Conference, which will be held in Lome, Togo from Wednesday 6th to 8th November 2019.

Growing orality trends impact how we share the Gospel

Instagram and Facebook are expanding their TV platforms. Podcasts are growing in popularity. More and more, people are ditching written text in favor of audio and visual communication. These modern developments are not only shifting how society shares infor...

Why the Community Caste Focus is Needed

Let us start with how people perceive themselves. There is too much of classifying people by who we think they are, rather than who they perceive themselves to be. That is arrogance on our part, not a respect of people as people who are living as members of...

One Great Tool to Explain the Gospel in Real Life

Missionaries working in countries where there is no printed gospel available in the heart language of the people use a method called storying to present the gospel message. Story sets help create bridges and address barriers to the gospel.

Is It Time to Declutter the Great Commission?

Started by a Japanese woman, a recent viral movement is spreading rapidly. All over the world, people are growing more and more enthusiastic—to declutter. More and more, I’m thinking the global mission community should take Kondo’s advice about decluttering...

God Speaks My Language

World Mission works closely with a network of national partners who speak the language and are working to create relationships within the indigenous communities where they minister.

Understanding the Remaining Mission Task

Have you wondered which peoples are still waiting to hear about Jesus for the first time? This illustrated video can help.

Honor, Shame and the Gospel: Reshaping the Messenger

Sam Winfield teaches about the dynamics of honor / shame cultures at the Honor Shame conference at Wheaton College in 2017. He puts forward the case that the cultures of the Bible were based on honor / shame, and unless Western missionaries consider seriou...

Remembering Pioneer Jim Slack

“Hello World!” was Jim Slack’s enthusiastic greeting to coworkers and his exclamation whenever he learned something new. An unassuming man always in good humor, Slack became one of Southern Baptists’ most influential missiologists during a 50-year career wi...

ION Africa Youth Conference: Zambia 6-8 June 2019

We are pleased to announce our upcoming ION Africa Youth Conference, which will be held in Lusaka, Zambia Thursday 6th June - Saturday 8th June 2019.

Orality, the Bible, and the African Imagination

What are the links between orality and literacy? Is one method better than the other? Dr. Gregg Okesson discusses the effects of modernity and how it mistakenly posited literacy against orality as part of the Seven Minute Seminary series.

The Bible like you have never experienced before

Whether in a home setting with just a smartphone, or in a 360˚ projection dome equipped with moving seats, wind, mist, scent, bubbles, snow, and flying actors, imagine experiencing the Bible as a participant in the great Story.

The Gospel and the Spoken Word: ION NAR Conference, Toronto, Oct 3-5, 2019

We are pleased to give advanced notification that the 2019 ION North American Region Conference with take place in Toronto, Oct. 3-5, 2019.The theme for this year's conference will be '1 WORD 4 ALL - Embodying Jesus in a Post-Textual Society'Please ...

ION Africa Consultation Nov 2018

ION Africa consultation was held in Johannesburg, South Africa from November 27 to 29, 2018. It brought together 130 participants from 21 countries. The 3-day program included presentations, interactive dialogue and panel discussions under the theme “Reachi...

Got a resource or story to share?

This is a community website, and we need YOU! You are invited to share stories, useful resources, events and opportunities to collaborate on our site. Do you have an inspiring story, or know of a useful resource? Our community site aims to serve the Oral...

Update from the Office of the Executive Director

Growth in ION South East AsiaThe orality community is celebrating exponential growth in recent months within South East Asia. Flowing out of the regional conference last November, an additional six national orality gatherings have been held stimulatin...

Orality: An Infographic – Lausanne Movement

The Lausanne Movement has published a new Orality Infographic for your use.

2018 NAR Conference Plenary Sessions

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the main plenary sessions from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Mandate'.

Sharing Spiritual Light With Those Who Cannot See

Raahithya is a 32-year-old young man from India who is continually hungry to know more about God. Employed at a local bank, he is the only Christian in his family.Two years ago, Raahithya came across a TWR India radio program. This is his story: "I rea...

Scripture in your hands

SIL has developed a free tool for translators to get the precious Scriptures in the hands of the people quickly and cheaply.  Scripture App Builder helps anyone to build customized Scripture apps for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. 

A New Day Dawns for the Deaf

Bible translation has been around for centuries, with missionaries venturing out into people groups near and far to make God’s Word accessible. As we steadily count down the number of languages left without Scripture, a people group seems to have gone overl...

It was a dark and stormy night…

How many of our Halloween stories begin this way? Even though many people tell such stories for fun at Halloween, for others fear characterizes their daily lives. Voodoo practitioners are not myths or stories in West Africa–they are all too real. Jesus rec...

2018 NAR Conference – Arts and Culture Gateway Breakout

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the Gateway breakout session "Arts and Culture" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Mandate'.

2018 NAR Conference – Development Gateway Breakout

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the Gateway breakout session "Development" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Mandate'.

2018 NAR Conference – Education Gateway Breakout

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the Gateway breakout session "Education" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Mandate'.

2018 NAR Conference – Media Gateway Breakout

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the Gateway breakout session "Media" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Mandate'.

2018 NAR Conference – Media Audio and Video Scripture Engagement Gateway Breakout

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the Gateway breakout session "Media Audio and Video Scripture Engagement" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Ap...

2018 NAR Conference – Research and Innovation Gateway Breakout

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the Gateway breakout session "Research and Innovation" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Ma...

2018 NAR Conference – Storying Gateway Breakout

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the Gateway breakout session "Storying" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Mandate'.

2018 NAR Conference – Focused Outreach Gateway Breakout

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the Gateway breakout session "Focused Outreach" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Mandate'.

2018 NAR Conference – Bushwhacking: How Digital Technology Has Taken Us Off the Map Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Bushwhacking: How Digital Technology Has Taken Us Off the Map" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the the...

2018 NAR Conference – Arts, Orality and Culture Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Arts, Orality and Culture" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Mandate'.

2018 NAR Conference – Engaging People through Oral Bible Storying Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Engaging People through Oral Bible Storying" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applicati...

2018 NAR Conference – From Creation to Consumption: The Whole Story Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "From Creation to Consumption: The Whole Story" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applica...

2018 NAR Conference – Inductive Scripture Engagement Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Inductive Scripture Engagement - Oral style" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applicati...

2018 NAR Conference – Making Truth Stick Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Making Truth Stick" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Mandate'.

2018 NAR Conference – Mobilizing Millennials for the Great Commission Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Mobilizing Millennials for the Great Commission" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Appli...

2018 NAR Conference – Orality by Design Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Orality by Design: Building Orality-Framed Strategies and Instruction" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with...

2018 NAR Conference – Outreach to Refugees using Bible Storying Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Outreach to Refugees using Bible Storying" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Application...

2018 NAR Conference – Prayer as a Strategy Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Prayer as a Strategy" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Mandate'.

2018 NAR Conference – Preparing to Teach a Bible Story Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Preparing to Teach a Bible Story" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One M...

2018 NAR Conference – Storying through the Epistles Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Storying through the Epistles" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applications - One Mand...

2018 NAR Conference – Visual Theology Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Visual Theology, Understanding and Creating Images Which Speak" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the th...

2018 NAR Conference – Visual Storytelling (With or Without Visuals) Workshop

Catch up or refresh yourself with the audio recordings of the workshop session "Visual Storytelling (With or Without Visuals)" from ION’s 2018 North America Regional Conference, which took place in Orlando, FL in September 2018, with the theme 'Many Applica...

Carlos Found a Father

As a young Colombian boy, Carlos left his family and moved to the north. There he learned how to grow and make cocaine and became deeply involved in drug dealing. Every day, Carlos got more responsibilities. Eventually, he started his own farm and made lots...

There’s an App for That!

Ask someone what they imagine when they think of Bible translation, and they might describe a linguist sitting alone at a simple desk in a remote village, poring over a Bible word by word and writing or typing it into a local language.  While no less challe...

The Voice of God Speaking to Siberian Hearts

"I tried to read the Russian Bible, but I didn’t understand a thing.” Anton's next question was, “Have you read the Nanai Gospel of Luke?” He was gearing up to give her the natural line about how reading in the language of the heart makes a significant diffe...

Chanting the Scriptures

When a New Testament translation project for the Wolayta of Ethiopia began in the early 1970s, the government would not allow books to be printed in indigenous languages; only in Amharic, the official language. The solution, at least short-term, was to reco...

Biblical Content for a Movement

My first two visits to a small group that was trying to multiply disciples in a diverse international city were filled with anticipation. My heart thrilled to see them organize their time into looking back for worship, encouragement, celebration and account...

Praying for Oral and Oral Bibleless People Groups

We can all do our part in the work of the completion of the Great Commission: Let’s PRAY for the completion of Scriptures in the heart language of every people group. We have prepared this free prayer guide eBook to help you as you pray.

Making Disciples of Oral Learners (Spanish)

Because oral learners tend to believe other people more than abstract truths, the spiritual life and example of the messenger are vital. This book address the greatest obstacle to communicating the gospel to the four billion people who are oral learners.

Becoming Fishers of Men

And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 One of the most rewarding parts of working with a culture is when you witness an amazing new connection of that culture and the Gospel.

SAVE THE DATE: ION European Consultation, Sep 26-28, 2019

We are pleased to give advanced notification of a consultation that will be held in Europe, in partnership with Oxford Centre for Missions Studies (OCMS), September 26-28, 2019 in Oxford, UK.More details to follow.

SAVE THE DATE: ION European Consultation, Sep 26-18, 2019

We are pleased to give advanced notification of a consultation that will be held in Europe, in partnership with Oxford Centre for Missions Studies (OCMS), September 26-18, 2019 in Oxford, UK.More details to follow.

A Skeptic Starts A Strong Movement of Disciple Making

A pastor named Roba came to Agali and expressed serious doubts that existing churches could change to become disciple making movements.  Agali did not argue but challenged Roba to start the process in his community. Roba took the challenge and went to his c...

A Holistic Strategy for the Evangelization of Oral Learners

Communicating the gospel across cultural barriers is an essential element of the Great Commission. Jesus mandated that his followers should go and make disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:19a). The gospel was not limited to Israel, but it was good news f...

History Cloth – 42 Chronological Bible Stories

History Cloth is a resource featuring 42 chronological Bible stories revealing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

How Networks Are Shaping the Future of World Mission

In the late 1980’s, David Barrett and James Reapsome published a book titled Seven Hundred Plans to Evangelize the World. In their book, they identified lack of cooperation and collaboration between Christian organizations as a major hindrance to world evan...

Connecting for Change: Worth and Value in the Kingdom of God

There is a lot of talk these days about inequality and the need for more fairness and equality. People often get the idea that their worth or value is based on their salary, possessions, title or position in an organization or society. However, God’s Kingdo...

ION North American Conference, 17-19 Sep 2018

"Tell me a fact and I will learn it.  Tell me a truth and I will believe it.  Tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever."  Native American Proverb We are all oral communicators.  Our Creator God made us in His image, and used oral approaches and ...

A Look at the Jesus Story, Oral Tradition and Eyewitness Memory

Even though the Christian can always offer certain dates for the Gospels, it should remembered that there was a gap of time between the ascension of Jesus and when the Gospel authors actually wrote their individual biographies about the life of Jesus. There...

Orality in Pioneer Business Planting

What does orality have to do with business? As we begin to experience the economic impact business is having in emerging nations, we must stop and ask ourselves if business is having the social and spiritual impact in the world we had hoped to see.

The Science of Storytelling

A good story can make or break a presentation, article, or conversation. But why is that? When Buffer co-founder Leo Widrich started to market his product through stories instead of benefits and bullet points, sign-ups went through the roof. Here he shares ...

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Heart Music

Heart music is amazingly powerful and a core concept of multicultural worship. So what is it? The lights went out in the middle of the rehearsal. It was a power cut in Nepal and I was playing the Himalayan lute in a community song and dance troupe. As cand...

I Like to Learn, But Not to Read: Orality and Missions

I met Watt at a pastoral training event in his home country in East Africa. His lean face looked weather-beaten. My colleague Doug told several stories from the book of Acts, then asked the group, “Have any of you ever been persecuted for your faith in Chri...

An Instant Tool for Evangelism in Your Pocket

At the open day one of GRN's staff accessed 5fish.mobi on John's phone. Later that day John visited his 80 year old neighbor at Westmead Hospital. She sat up on the bed amazed and bewildered as John shared the gospel with her using his phone. The lady was s...

3 Reasons Bible Storying is Essential for Making Disciples Globally

I’m a firm believer in the power of Bible storying. During thirty-six years serving overseas in Africa, South Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, I’ve seen stories from Scripture change lives all over the world.

Confessions of a God Father

My name is Priest Hadessa. I am the head priest of an Orthodox church in a country where Christianity arrived in the 1st century AD. I have five children of my own, and I am a father confessor—a “God father”—to the families in my church, who are my spiritua...

Latest Articles & News

Orality: Storytelling and Millennial Engagement

I grew up in the South where sweet tea and gossip on the front porch were anchors. The one thing you can bank on in the south is stories grow with each passing year. Hunting stories, Christmas stories, birthday stories, and the list goes on.

Bible in 90 Days Prayer Initiative

We are asking for our ION Prayer Partners to link in united prayer during this 90 day prayer initiative. As we listen, we continue to focus our prayers toward those who do not have access to Scripture in their heart language or mother tongue. 

Social Media Ministry Made Easy

Not since Gutenberg developed the printing press has there been such a revolutionary means of spreading the gospel to people around the world. The Internet has eclipsed the influence of print, radio and television by putting the power to publish and broadca...

Walter Ong – Oral Cultures and Early Writing

Formative historian Walter Ong explores the effects early writings had on oral cultures.

Digital Orality: How to connect your digital footprint to the world’s five billion oral learners

This exploration investigates how to communicate in today’s “Conceptual Age,” employing digital media to connect with a predominately oral world.

How Will We Speak? On Film, Memory, and Mimicking God’s Communication Style

A film director and producer recount their pursuit of seeking to understand how God speaks and how He, as the Master Storyteller, invites us to speak.

Translation, Literacy, and Orality: Reflections from the Domain of Bible Translation

A senior translator probes the multi-layered nature of orality and its relationship with Bible translation.

The Art of Natural Translations

This article explores how incorporating local artistic forms into a Bible translation project enhances the naturalness of a biblical passage.

Creating Indigenous Films

A cross-cultural filmmaker offers an inside perspective on the process of creating audio-visual media projects in Asia.

Back to the Future Pedagogy

Asian church leaders discuss the tradition of experiential learning set in their culture and its potential effectiveness for seeking Christian transformation.

Book Review: Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

This celebrated book is a significant resource on how to enhance the capacity of your memory to make it remember more than the average person. Written in the style of a fascinating nonfiction novel, Joshua Foer takes the reader on an adventurous journey wi...

Book Review: Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

Three scholars carried out a research study on strategies of learning. Using their knowledge and skills of storytelling and psychology, the authors argue that, “Most effective learning strategies are not intuitive.”

Orality: Intergenerational and Cross Cultural

After 30 long hours of travel they arrived in the remote village deep in India. Cloaked in a headscarf a young woman shared the story of the Woman at the Well. Jesus’ prophetic words to the Samaritan woman left the crowd speechless. That storyteller was me.