The Transforming Power of Water and the Word

The Transforming Power of Water and the Word
The Living Water that Satisfies the Deepest Thirst

By Jerry Wiles, President Emeritus, Living Water International
Special to ASSIST News Service

HOUSTON, TX (ANS) -- "The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But the Lord will answer them," (Isaiah 41:17). Jesus said, in John 7:37-38, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams or rivers of living water will flow from within him." While assisting communities in acquiring clean, safe drinking water, we want to facilitate their experiencing the Living Water of Jesus, which alone satisfies the deepest thirst.

A new well in a village is a time  for celebration

Since 1990, Living Water International (https://www.water.cc) has had many amazing opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus, working with local churches, other mission organizations and ministries, and many other partners around the world. While the number of people who are without access to clean water has been reduced from more than 1.2 billion around the year 2000, to under 800 million today, there are still great needs and opportunities for helping people with water solutions, health and hygiene training and sanitation services.

Women and children are the ones who suffer the most from a lack of clean water. In many places, women spend 20, or more, hours a week collecting water; some walk several miles every day, often for contaminated water. Water-related diseases cause 2.2 million deaths a year; every day, diarrhea takes the lives of 2,000 children in Africa - more than any other single cause of death. Safe water, a toilet and clean hands could prevent 90% of these deaths. Half of the hospital beds in the world are occupied by someone with some kind of water-related disease. The statistics are overwhelming.

Great progress is being made globally in addressing the water issues, but whole people groups are being overlooked - it's the poorest people with the least political power and material resources who continue to suffer. Many of the people who are without access to clean water are those who live on less than a dollar a day and have had the least access to educational opportunities and the gospel. These are the neediest people on the planet, both physically and spiritually.

The "Joy of the Lord" does not depend on our possessions, but our relationship with Jesus

It is amazing that over the past 20 years millions of people have gained access to safe drinking water. However, the best story we have to tell is that God desires to transform individuals, families, communities and nations through the person of Jesus Christ. Now, with better research and understanding about the way most people in the world learn and communicate, we can be more effective and strategic in sharing the Living Water of Jesus and carrying out our Lord's Great Commission.

Recent studies show that 5.7 billion people in the world today would be considered oral learners, by necessity or by preference. (See www.orality.net/journals/2012 "The Extent of Orality: 2012 Update"). In the regions where LWI works, it is probably more like 80 - 90% of the people who are oral learners -- those who can't, don't or won't read, or prefer to learn and communicate by means other than written instruction or print-based media. Since launching our efforts several years ago, we have seen some amazing impact and results as people have experienced orality training and become more aware of better ways of presenting the Good News of Jesus and making disciples in a way that is reproducible and transferable to the ends of the earth and to all nations (people groups).

A new water well at a school. (Half the schools in the world are without an adequate clean water source.)

In many parts of the world, women and children are not given the opportunity to participate in the life of the church. In our Orality Training Workshops, everyone is engaged and everyone participates. We are often amazed when we see how so many of the women and children come alive with excitement and enthusiasm as they retell the stories. We have observed that when people of all ages learn stories, discuss them and discover the meaning and application to their lives, they tend to tell them to others. Consider how many people might be impacted over the lifetime of a child who learns a few stories and a set of questions. We have heard accounts of how churches have been planted by children using stories and oral methods. A lady who recently participated in an Orality Training for Trainers (O-T4T), and was part of a team that conducted an Orality Training Workshop, reported that she immediately started using the training. During the following month she conducted orality training with over 300 people, and more than 70 received Christ.

It seems that many, especially in the Western Church, have thought of the Great Commission -- making disciples of all nations -- as being the responsibility of professionals, paid clergy or church staff people. There are many now who are rethinking that and realizing that making disciples is the role, responsibility and privilege of every follower of Jesus, regardless of age, gender or educational achievements. The spreading of the gospel, leading others to Christ and helping others grow in their relationship with the Lord should not be complicated. This is where the Orality Movement is having such an amazing impact on people's lives, when they really pay attention, participate in learning and then share it with others.

Women are still coming to wells in many parts of the world

If we are to effectively communicate the Good (News) Story to everyone, to the ends of the earth, and make disciples of all people groups, we must make sure that our message and methods are biblical, understandable and reproducible. There is great power in simplicity and reproducibility. The idea of training and making disciples with a focus on learning a little, practicing a lot and implementing immediately seems to be catching on. People are discovering that we don't have to be biblical scholars to share the Word of God with great impact. The power of the Holy Spirit, working through ordinary followers of Jesus, can have a transforming impact on individuals, families and entire communities.

Over the years I have had the opportunity of sharing the gospel in many different contexts and in many different places. I have found that most people are open to discussing spiritual matters, if approached in the right spirit. Asking questions and discovering common ground seems to work anywhere in the world. In our particular work with Living Water International, of course water is a common place to have a conversation. However, there are many other bridges to begin a conversation about the Lord or spiritual things.

The subject of prayer is often a great topic to engage someone in a spiritual conversation. Asking someone how you can pray for them is a good place to start. Almost no one will be offended by your asking them how you can pray for them. However, when someone does share a prayer concern, it is important to actually pray for them and then follow up and ask how the Lord has answered prayer. I believe God is especially interested in meeting the felt needs of lost people, so that they will know that He is real and concerned about them. Many people have come to the Lord with that simple method.

The Good News of Jesus spread throughout the entire populated world in the first century, primarily through ordinary believers, using primarily oral methods. Someone has said that the Twenty-first Century Church may look a lot like the First Century Church. While modern technology can be a great blessing, the simple methods we learn from Jesus are still very important. Prayer, the work of the Holy Spirit and personally sharing our faith and making disciples the way Jesus and the early church did it will never go out of style. These are timeless methods that should be foundational to all we do in obeying our Lord's Great Commission.

Many in North America and the Western World are just now hearing about Orality. In many cases it's necessary to define the term. Some have heard about orality or storying, and unfortunately, have made a judgment based on very limited information. Some may assume that their preaching and teaching are orality-based and appropriate for oral learners just because it's audible. However, just because a communication method is audible, that does not mean it's compatible with oral cultures or oral learners.

Sharing Water and the Word is not always a clean and easy job

People who take the time to participate in orality training, or even research the movement, usually become passionate and enthusiastic about it. It seems that people who are already excited about sharing their faith and making disciples are the ones who become passionate champions for orality strategies. While increasing numbers of leaders are recognizing that orality really is changing the face of missions around the world, many casual observers remain casual observers. A friend of mine recently reminded me that change usually starts with the fringe and moves to the center.

Dr. J. D. Payne, respected scholar and missiologist, identifies Orality (or Oral Learners) as one of "Twelve Global Issues Shaping the Face of the Church." His latest book, "Pressure Points," published by Thomas Nelson, is scheduled to be released in mid-July. He points out that, "Two-thirds of the world's population are oral learners, meaning they cannot, do not, or will not learn through literate means. For centuries, the Church has "walked on literate feet." Many people in the world do not have their language in a written form, making literate communication impossible." We also now know that a large percentage of the population of the United States is made up of secondary oral learners, or oral preference learners.

An important lesson we learn from church history is that the great movements of God in the world have not started with big fanfare or massive media campaigns. My friend and brother in Christ, Tim Timmons, points out that Jesus was into the power of the few! Instead of going on TV and seeking to produce mass seminars, mailers and email blasts, Jesus sought out three religious rejects to come and be with him. And, from this relationship with the three, then the twelve and the seventy-two, the Jesus movement rippled throughout the world and the revolution is still on today! He goes on to say, "We are seeing this play out in our work. We are focusing on the few and as those few really get it, the message of Jesus spreads like a wildfire."

In our orality training, we emphasize the principles of the kingdom of God that Jesus teaches about the mustard seed and the yeast. A small seed can produce a large plant, and a small amount of yeast can effect a large lump of dough. The Samaritan Woman at the well and the formerly demon-possessed Gerasene are great examples, in that both of them were used to bring transformation to whole communities and the ten-city region of the Decapolis. It is encouraging to realize that the little things we say or do can have great impact on others, even bringing transformation to families and communities today.

For information about LWI's Orality Training Workshops, visit www.water.cc/orality. For more in-depth information on the Orality Movement and the upcoming 2013 Annual Conference of the International Orality Network to be held September 16-19, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Chesterfield, MO, visit: www.orality.net.

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