Why Orality Matters: Communicating the Gospel Beyond Words | Orality Issue Network Panel Discussion

How can the Church rediscover the power of oral communication to reach both non-readers and digital natives in today’s world?

In this rich and engaging panel from the Lausanne Orality Issue Network, global leaders explore why orality matters—not only for traditional oral cultures, but for a world increasingly shaped by story, media, and relational communication. Drawing from mission, theology, digital innovation, and personal experience, they invite the Church to reimagine evangelism, discipleship, and theology through the lens of oral learning and expression.

Panelists

Billy Coppedge (Moderator – USA)
Larry Dinkins (Thailand)
Ricki Gidoomal (UK/India)
Anna Rapa (USA)

Key Takeaways

Orality is not just for those who can’t read—it’s a powerful tool for reaching those who prefer to listen, watch, and feel before they read or reason.
Oral communication engages the whole person—mind, heart, and body—and fosters deeper, relational learning.
Orality is deeply biblical—God spoke creation into being, Jesus taught through stories, and Scripture is filled with oral tradition and narrative.
Digital and oral cultures are converging—especially among younger generations, who learn best through video, storytelling, and embodied experience.
The Church must equip believers to share their faith through stories, dialogue, and cultural engagement, not just through lectures or printed material.

Watch now to explore how orality is reshaping global mission, and how you can become a better communicator of the gospel—wherever God has placed you.

00:00 Introduction to Orality
00:16 Meet the Panelists
03:08 Defining Orality
08:54 Orality in Bible Translation
10:48 Orality in the Legal Profession
13:02 Holistic Communication and Storytelling
17:14 Digital Communication and Orality
20:35 The Power of Oral Bible Memory
23:34 Theological Implications of Orality
24:13 Experiencing Jesus and Intimacy with God
25:18 The Significance and Strategy of Orality
26:11 Bridging the Cultural Divide
28:13 The Role of Digital Media in Orality
28:58 The Importance of Storytelling
29:35 God’s Communication and Orality
33:07 Orality as a Tool for Evangelism
35:26 Orality vs. AI and Technology
38:33 Orality and the Arts

Issue Network Panel Discussion

As part of the Fourth Lausanne Congress, these panel discussions feature leaders from Lausanne’s global Issue Networks engaging some of the most pressing opportunities and challenges facing the Church today. Covering themes such as justice, integrity, orality, disability, leadership, and mission to the least-reached, each conversation offers biblical reflection, contextual insight, and collaborative vision for the whole Church to bring the whole gospel to the whole world.

Justice at the Heart of the Gospel: Freedom & Justice Panel Discussion

19:28

Proclaiming the Gospel with Justice: Freedom & Justice Panel Discussion

25:17

A Biblical Vision for Resourcing God’s Work: A Ministry Fundraising Network Panel Discussion

14:51

Reaching People on the Move: Global Mission Through Mobility Panel Discussion

Speakers' Bios

Billy Coppedge

Catalyst for Orality

Billy Coppedge and his wife Joanna have lived and worked in Uganda for many years with World Gospel Mission. They are passionate about helping people encounter Jesus through God's Word.

Billy has a PhD in World Christianity from the University of Edinburgh with his research focusing primarily on orality and Scripture engagement in Ugandan Christianity. He and his co-Lausanne Catalysts for Orality facilitate the orality-themed podcast at God Speaks: Conversations on Orality and the Gospel.

Larry M. Dinkins

Dr. Larry Dinkins finished his ThM at DTS in 1979 and then went with his wife Paula to Thailand through OMF International and began a church planting ministry with leprosy patients. In 1987 the Dinkins transitioned into a Bible teaching ministry at the Bangkok Bible College. In 1995 Larry finished classwork for a PhD at Biola University allowing him to return to Thailand to start a TEE program in North Thailand. Larry acted as a founding director of the newly formed Chiang Mai Theological Seminary in 2000 before the family evacuated Thailand in 2002 due to a diagnosis of cancer in Paula’s bone marrow. After nine years of treatment, Paula’s struggle with cancer ended and she went into the Lord’s presence. In 2012 Larry returned to Thailand to resume his ministry of Bible teaching. For the last 9 months Dr. Dinkins has acted as the Missionary in Residence and was recently approved as an adjunct professor here at DTS. Larry has four children and eight grandchildren.

Ricki Gidoomal

Catalyst for Orality

Ricki Gidoomal serves as executive vice president of academic and partner services for Whole Word Institute and as a Lausanne catalyst for orality, and was a co-author and film producer of Master Storyteller: God’s Oral Communication in the Bible & Hebrew Tradition (COS/Lausanne).

He graduated from the University of Oxford with an MA (Oxon) in Russian and linguistics and has extensive experience in business, communications, and marketing, running marketing and translation agencies that served several multinational companies and NGOs.

Ricki grew up in the UK and has lived, worked, and ministered in English, Russian, Spanish, and Hebrew contexts. Currently Ricki and his wife live in Israel. They have three children and co-lead a local congregation.

Anna Rapa

Anna Rapa seeks to live a life holistically grounded in her faith in and relationship with Jesus Christ. Called to ministry at a young age, for years she weighed the options of living in "full-time ministry" versus walking as a person of faith within an increasingly post-Christian world.

She now works as a full-time attorney, but she lives her life as a minister within her marketplace. Her life experiences and her calling have put her in the perfect place to share the story of God. She also loves to speak and write about what it means to be transformed and how to share the message of redemption and reconciliation in today's world.