The account described in the first part of Pastor Dinanath's story is not an isolated instance. The gospel is being proclaimed now to more people than at any other time in history, yet many of those are not really hearing it. Unfortunately, most evangelical leaders do not realize the magnitude of the problem. Those affected by it include the 4 billion oral communicators of the world: people who can't, don't, or won't take in new information or communicate by literate means. Oral communicators are found in every cultural group in the world and they constitute approximately two thirds of the world's population! Yet we are not communicating the gospel effectively with them. We will not succeed in reaching the majority of the world unless we make some crucial changes.
Ironically, an estimated 90% of the world's Christian workers presenting the gospel use highly literate communication styles. They use the printed page or expositional, analytical and logical presentations of God's word. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for oral learners to hear and understand the message and communicate it to others. As the ones bringing the message, it is our responsibility to communicate our message in their terms. The pages that follow are intended to help point the way for us to do that.
Current estimates indicate that around two thirds of the world's population are oral communicators either by necessity or by choice. To effectively communicate with them, we must defer to their oral Growing Awareness of a Global Situation communication style. Our presentations must match their oral learning styles and preferences. Instead of using outlines, lists, steps and principles we need to use culturally relevant approaches they would understand. Are we willing to seek God to become better stewards of the Great Commission and address these issues in serving Him in these last days? The Lausanne Forum of 2004 has responded to this challenge in the form of the Issue Group focused on "Making Disciples of Oral Learners."