Oral Story June 2022

The Whole Body

“We will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.!  Ephesians 4:15-16

What does “the whole body” really mean? This refers to the whole body of which Christ is the head. We naturally think in terms that we can identify with. Christ is the head of our home, the head of our local church, or the head of our church body, but consider the whole body. The whole body of Christ has variety, color, and style with His Word at the center.

The ministry of the Orality Institute is dependent on the whole body. It depends on people from many locations and backgrounds to train their own people. It requires people from all types of situations to teach those who are also like they them. We have seen the effects of people training others from their same location or background: city classes for those who work in the city; a teacher holding a class for fellow teachers; rural farmers or housewives studying together; language specific classes, or a class at a fishing village.

People from each of those different backgrounds, locations, status, languages, and education are part of whole body. They all need to grow and build one another up so that they can become “the mature body of Him who is the head, that is Christ.” It can be a challenge for us to remember the full breadth, height, and depth of Christ’s body because we are only a narrow portion. But, if we are going to become a mature body we need each other. We need every part created by the Father, held together by the Word, and united in the Spirit.

The Clear Call

“How will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?” 1 Corinthians 14:8

We as a ministry are clarifying our notes and sounding a clear battle cry because we are seeing the Lord open astonishing doors of opportunity.

The recent trip to Malawi doubled our active ministry. Previously, we had been actively working in three countries with one ministry in each. Now there are four new ministries in Malawi that plan to train their people through the Orality Institute.

In addition to those new ministries, we received an invitation to introduce the training to the nine southern districts of the Mekane Yesus Lutheran Church in Ethiopia. The size of the ministry in Ethiopia could again double the ministry because of the sheer numbers of people that are a part of their church body.

Because of these two amazing opportunities and expansion, we need to blow the trumpet and get ready for battle. Currently, this ministry is being done by two part-time staff and we see the need for growth. Help us sound the call to get ready for the battle. This battle is the Lord’s! To help us spread this message, we have a new brochure that describes the ministry of the Orality Institute. It describes the name, oral training, our training method, the five steps, and the course content. There are answers to frequently asked questions and student testimonies. There are pictures of the ministry, the four levels of training are described, and the budget is laid out. This brochure is available in PDF format. It can be emailed, physically mailed clicked on below, or downloaded from our website. We are ready to bring God’s Word to every place that He provides.