What is French World Outreach (FWO)?
It is a ministry, begun by brother Jerrel Rowden in 1967, providing Christian literature for the work of the Lord’s church in the French-speaking world. Its mission is to make French language materials available to missionaries, native preachers and churches, World Bible School teachers and individuals, throughout the French speaking world, at the lowest possible cost. The material includes a wide variety of tracts and booklets, several Bible correspondence courses, New Testaments, commentaries and other study materials.
In 2007 oversight of this work was assumed by the Crieve Hall Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee (USA). Barry Baggott, former missionary in France (1984-86) and in Ivory Coast (1987-2003), was asked to serve as director, assisted by Frederic Feruzi, who served as an evangelist in Geneva, Switzerland and Montreal, Canada.
How is it financed?
- Funds are raised from local churches of Christ and individual Christians to subsidize the cost of the materials. (Some have contributed by means of memorials.) These contributions help pay for some of the overhead.
- The Crieve Hall Church of Christ provides facilities for the work and volunteers whose labor helps to reduce costs.
- The catalog of available materials indicates the estimated production cost of each item. Those who use the materials are invited to “participate” in the cost of producing them, though materials are provided when possible even to those who do not have the means to contribute.
Who uses the materials?
Over 500 million people live in the 57 countries and territories which consider themselves part of the French-speaking world. These include:
Africa: Algeria, Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia, and Togo.
Europe: Andorra, Belgium, France, Monaco, Switzerland.
North America: Louisiana, St-Pierre and Miquelon, Quebec
The Caribbean: French Guiana Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Saint Martin and.
The South Pacific: French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Wallis-Futuna.
Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
The Indian Ocean: Comorros Islands, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion Island
Churches of Christ have now been established in 34 of these countries; in fact, the number of French-speaking congregations has grown from around 85 to over 550 since 1986. Literature has already played a major role in this growth, and it is one of the best ways available to compensate for a continuing shortage of missionaries, to accelerate evangelism and to keep the churches on track doctrinally. Missionaries, local evangelists, congregations, World Bible School teachers and truth seekers throughout the world use the materials provided by French World Outreach.
