Master of Arts

Orality Studies Concentration

In today’s educational landscape, simply accumulating knowledge is no longer enough. What truly makes a difference in this world are transformed, authentic lives. It’s time to return to the basics—to how Jesus taught.

I-OS is partnering with Kairos University to offer an affordable, US-accredited, competency-based MA program focusing on practical application and personal transformation rather than mere knowledge acquisition.

Why Pursue an MA with Kairos University?

Kairos University offers a transformative online learning experience, integrating mentorship, vocational excellence, and contextualized study to deepen your faith, enhance your communication skills, and equip you for impactful leadership, particularly among the world’s Orality Majority.

By inviting Kairos to walk with you on this journey, you are taking hold of a unique opportunity to deepen your faith while simultaneously developing the knowledge to flourish in your vocation. We do this by helping you develop a mentor team that walks with you throughout the entire program. Then, we invite you to integrate discipleship, vocational excellence, and proficiency learning.

Studying MA in Orality Studies at Kairos University offers a transformative and impactful learning journey tailored to your specific context. This program enables students to engage in contextualized study that is accessible anytime, anywhere. It not only enhances your competence in communicating God’s Word but also deepens your relationship with Christ.

Kairos University provides an innovative online learning platform supported by a unique, interactive app, ensuring a distinctive educational experience. Moreover, through its partnership with IOS, Kairos University pairs students with mentors who guide them throughout their academic journey.

The Orality Studies of IOS with Kairos University immerses students into a theology and missiology of how God created us as communicators in His image. He conceived in his mind a world worth dying for as he spoke it into existence, then set out to redeem his rebellious children by engaging with them throughout human history with all their five senses—visions, meals, incense, a thundering voice, and the tactile act of offering sacrifices to restore community with his family.

I-OS retools 21^st-century leaders for higher impact communication, especially among the world’s Orality Majority. We bring together the leading global experts in the field for training, research, and collaboration. Our work is grounded in global projects validated and reported through third-party evaluations. In spanning more than 20 projects, our research consistently demonstrated that when we use a complex of 7 disciplines, the impact of our message increases knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors by 10-40% more than approaches that only incorporate a few. Jesus also practiced these same 7 “descriptive disciplines” prescribed by the Father:

For my Father commanded me what to say, and how to say it.

—John 12:48-49, NLT

Why Study Orality?

Orality studies is also a multidisciplinary track that reveals more of how we communicate as whole persons, extending far beyond merely conveying facts, concepts, and principles. God Himself employs a rich tapestry of stories, songs, prayers, love letters, visions, and more to communicate His message. The Orality Studies Program (OSP) facilitates this by opening those channels and unlocking doors, allowing you to deliver messages using your audience’s preferred ways and means of communication rather than ours.

FAQs

What Gaps Is this Program Addressing?

This program bridges the gaps between modern theological education and the Excluded Majority, ensuring impactful communication.

Modern theological education tends to work on several assumptions: we simply need to tell people the truth – Inform them; the Word of God is for all practical purposes a text; only be reading and studying the text can take us to real maturity. It also tends to presume that the Western perspectives offer the most profound insights into the mind of God for faith, church, and witness; and that the Dominant Minority must lead the Excluded Majority of the world into ecclesiological progress.

However, these assumptions rarely account for the following gaps and divide: The Enlightenment Gap: The Gutenberg Parenthesis to the Digitoral Age; The Digitoral Gap: A new generation that can read but prefers multimodal communication; The Digital Divide: digital natives, affluent, and impoverished.

Hence, OSP aims to bridge these gaps, facilitating relevant and meaningful communication with the Excluded Majority, which includes a significant portion of the remaining Unreached People Groups (UPG). By addressing these disparities, OSP seeks to ensure that the messages conveyed have a higher impact.

What are the Courses?

Primary Tracks

Foundations: Theology, theory, and practices & multidisciplinary facilitating Foundations of Orality.
Narrative: Narratology and models of Scripture engagement, facilitating the narrative processes & narrative performance.
Culture & Arts: Building a culture of arts in context & leading an arts workshop.
Instructional Design: Teaching for transformation & curriculum and instructional design systems.

Theological/Biblical

Orality and the Old Testament.
Orality in the New Testament and early church.
Narrative/Character Theology & Integrated Hermeneutics.

Inter-Disciplinary

Media Competencies.
Participatory Communication.
Frontier Mission Strategies.

Integrative Project

A real-time project where students demonstrate the ability to apply all they learned to their ministry.

How Much Does it Cost?

Tuition

Our program operates on a subscription model with an all-inclusive monthly fee. The price ranges from $30 to $300 monthly, adjusted according to your country’s UN development index. For more details, please contact us at training@i-os.org.

Assistance

We’re also committed to making our program accessible to all deserving students, regardless of financial circumstances. We are actively working to provide additional scholarships for those who may need assistance.

When Does it Start & How Long Does it Take?

We aim to begin the program on November 13, 2024 officially.

Most students taking the MA at Kairos University finish their course in 18 months. Depending on the student’s time investment and previous experience, the time may be shortened or extended by a few months.

How Can I Apply & Enroll?

Complete the application form and submit proof of a BA or equivalent degree with a GPA of at least 2.5.

We will schedule an interview after reviewing your application and obtaining your references.

Application Form

After you are accepted into the program, you will be enrolled as a student at Kairos University.