Move over, orality, there is a new kid on the block.
Video, particularly short-form video, is the global lingua franca
Orality is an approach to communicating the gospel that does not assume literacy. Orality has enjoyed a pretty good run among global ministry strategists. Orality has its own network (The International Orality Network), journal, conference, and workshops/seminars in various institutes. Globally, we may be led to think that rising literacy will give way to less orality in outreach. Like all social sciences, studies in orality are mixed. Some see orality as a separate category from literacy, others place it on a spectrum, and yet others see orality as a form of literacy.
Orality has a “negative definition.” It essentially walls off literacy and says, “Orality is communication apart from reading.” It emphasizes alternate forms of communication; everything but literacy. This negative framing is helpful, but I think it might be hiding a bigger revolution. This bigger revolution in communication is video. AI will only plant the spear of video deeper into the heart of reading, limiting the appeal of text-based communication.
Consider the growth of video consumption:
Statista reported in 2021 that 3.37 billion people were consuming video advertising. That was 2021 – a long time ago by Internet standards.
Video marketing is at an all-time high. This study also shows that AI has already penetrated the video marketing industry with 75% using AI tools.
85% of the world’s population has smartphones. This is where video is being consumed. In your hand.
Huge Implications for Global Missions
“Mutual intelligibility” means that 75% of the world speaks 1 of 8 languages. These 8 languages are readily available on the major AI platforms that let one do instant, spoken, translation via Avatars you create yourself. That means you can speak to 75% of the world’s population via video today.
Don’t believe me? Check out this video short that I created in about an hour:
By the way, that “hour” included created my account, recording my avatar, and then testing out the first few languages. I can now just post text into this tool and ask it to generate a video of me talking. My time investment is cutting and pasting text, and the having a coffee while I wait for the video to render.
Shorter, not Longer
I am personally struggling to figure out how Missio Nexus, the organization I lead, can be riding this wave when we have created a platform that is inherently literacy and image-based. When we do create video, it is often long sessions of speakers. People want video shorts with an expected watch time of less than 60 seconds. Now, before you complain about this as being too short and not intellectually focused, ask yourself if you want this audience or not. It is hard to produce video shorts that are compelling. It is much easier to make long-form content, particularly for Christian leaders used to long-form sermons in church.
I recently found several AI tools that will take our longer-form video and break it up into bite-sized video shorts, far more likely to be watched. This is a step in the right direction, but what would it look like to produce content from the beginning with a focus on bite-sized learning? This is something I am actively researching and trying to figure out.
Video is the Future that is Already Here
Proponents of orality might argue that video, including AI video, is only a subset of what they are referring to when they use the term “orality.” Let me suggest that video is outstripping all other forms of communication found within the orality basket, making orality a less helpful concept than it has been.
Short-form video isn’t something that will be adopted in the future. It is already here. How are you working toward incorporating this powerful communications tool into your ministry? I can tell you that I am doing a deep rethink on what our current approach to how we think about and utilize video is at Missio Nexus. We have a lot of change coming down the pipeline.
During my tenure with the ION leadership team, I oversaw aspects related to secondary orality, a concept discussed by Walter Ong in his seminal work, Orality and Literacy. Ong described primary orality as the communication form of communities without a written language, with little familiarity with reading and writing. In contrast, secondary orality is mediated through electronic and digital media by those who are literate. Oral communication modes like songs and stories heavily influence this latter form. However, secondary orality tends to be passive, often involving activities like watching a screen. While it might seem beneficial to create more video content for oral preference learners, it is essential to remember that oral cultures are characterized by distinct traits such as a focus on honor and shame, learning primarily through dialogue with others, and a group-focused orientation without reliance on abstract and analytical principles—just something to think about.
Decades ago, the Lord called me to serve Him through Christian resource publishing and distribution, and I’ve noticed that the vast majority of all the Christian resources available to the global church today (i.e. books, audio/visual materials, etc.) were first published in English in the West -- where Christians aren't threatened with death for their faith -- and then translated into other languages for use in other countries. Given that fact, a lot of foreign language discipleship materials distributed outside the West are void of teaching that prepares believers to lay EVERYTHING down – including our own lives in a life or death confrontation – to follow Jesus.
It is this missing element – our willingness to offer on the altar the most precious thing each of us have to give, our very physical lives – that is mentioned at the end of Rev. 12:11 – “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”
I have never seen a How To Manual on facing persecution. What I have seen, however, are multiple testimonies of believers who have courageously faced persecution, weathered it in ways that bring glory to Jesus and resulted in their forgiving their persecutors (which sometimes, through their witness of love and forgiveness, leads the persecutors to faith in Christ, too).
Voice of the Martyrs (https://www.vom.org) has created a website (https://www.vm1.tv) where all of our audio/visual resources in 60 languages are shown, which you and those you know may freely view, download and share with others. Simply go to https://www.vm1.tv, click the language box in the top right corner of our home page, find your language of interest and access what you need for the encouragement of all. Got questions? Write me at: fieldresources@vom.org