Spread the gospel through children’s Bibles.

Children’s Bibles for Tribes in Ivory Coast

Context
The Facilité Foundation is primarily active in pioneering missions. Its main goal is to reach unreached tribes with the Gospel! Since 2013, it has also been working in Ivory Coast, where it has witnessed significant progress among the Dan and Bete tribes.

Although there are already Christian churches in Ivory Coast, biblical knowledge is often extremely limited. Most people, especially outside the large cities, do not own a Bible. Moreover, passing on Bible stories to children happens far too infrequently. Reading the Bible at home or telling the stories to children? It rarely occurs.

One of the problems is that children’s Bibles in Ivory Coast are scarce and very expensive. Even Sunday schools don’t have them. Most people are very poor, and a children’s Bible costs as much as a week’s wages or more for many families. Even at Christian schools, many teachers have little to no knowledge of the Bible. An Ivorian pastor once said: “If we withhold the Bible from our children today, they may forget God tomorrow.” – Rev. Charles Bahi

The Baoulé Tribe
The Baoulé (four to five million people) live in the heart of Ivory Coast. In large areas, their language is the primary language, making it widely understood. While more than 50% of the Baoulé identify as Christians, many don’t know how to integrate their faith into daily life. Though Christians, they lead spiritually dormant lives. A Bible project could awaken and re-energize them spiritually.

“The Bible, for those who even have one – which is often not the case – remains a closed book for many. They read from it during church services, but that’s all for the entire week. Our children’s Bible project will not only bring children into contact with the Bible, but it goes beyond that. We teach families how to live with an open Bible!” – Dr. Philippe Makaye (Abidjan)

Bible Project and the Central Role of Children’s Bibles
The Facilité Foundation has developed a unique approach to introducing unreached tribes to the Gospel in a simple way or reactivating them through clear spiritual teaching. By deeply identifying with the local population and immersing itself in their world, the Facilité Foundation has been able to build bridges, gain trust, and create opportunities to share and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. MissionInvest is inspired by their simple but highly effective approach. Between 2019 and 2022, MissionInvest successfully partnered with the Facilité Foundation on two previous projects.

The Facilité Foundation’s strategy focuses on spreading the Gospel through children’s Bibles among the Baoulé tribe. This approach is beneficial in two ways. The first step targets parents. As parents learn how to tell their children Bible stories, their own knowledge of the Bible increases. To support this, we offer lessons for parents on how to share Bible stories with their children. Parents often realize they still have much to learn themselves. And the children? They grow up learning the Bible from a young age. Additionally, and quite remarkably, this project allows us to reach children whose parents are illiterate; these children read the Bible stories to their parents!

The second step involves training local churches to establish Bible study groups. Our training primarily focuses on new group leaders, who learn two key skills: gaining a deeper understanding of the Bible’s message and developing the habit of independently reading the Bible daily.

The third step is the launch of small Bible study groups by these trained leaders. Through these groups, we aim to spread the message of salvation and renewal throughout the country. In Ivory Coast, spontaneous growth often occurs! Bible study groups held in homes naturally attract curious neighbors, especially in villages where people freely visit one another. These groups often become small centers for spreading the Gospel. Participants also experience transformation: previously unable to discuss or explain their faith, they gain the confidence to engage in conversations about faith.

Isn’t this how Paul approached it? He first brought the Gospel to those already familiar with the Scriptures (though they often misunderstood them), such as people in synagogues. Then, he involved them in reaching out to those completely unfamiliar with God’s Word.

Among the Baoulé
In everyday life, people in this tribe speak their native language, Baoulé. French is the language of government and schools, but personal matters are always discussed in Baoulé. Many people are proficient readers of Baoulé, which is an advantage. To maximize accessibility, we have decided to produce bilingual children’s Bibles: French–Baoulé. To ensure an accurate translation, we partnered intensively with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Approach
The Facilité Foundation always works from the ground up, ensuring that initiatives are broadly supported within the community for maximum effectiveness. That’s why in December 2024, we will mobilize all churches in central Ivory Coast. The launch will include three large events in major cities, including Abidjan and Bouaké. The local population, dressed in traditional attire and accompanied by their music, will receive the Bibles. A highlight of these events will be the reading of Bible stories in Baoulé, which will be a new experience for many. Media outlets and dignitaries will also be invited.

Following these large events, distribution will continue locally. We will work in four regions, each with an average of 100 churches. Distribution is expected to take six months, concluding by the end of June 2025. To promote children’s Bibles further, reading competitions for children will be organized. Children will read Bible stories in their native language in village squares or churches, becoming little missionaries!

Through local churches and the newly established Bible study groups, this project will distribute a total of 15,000 bilingual children’s Bibles and 10,000 standard French Bibles (Old and New Testament).

Impact
The Facilité Foundation’s hallmark is its low-threshold approach, tailored to people’s everyday lives. With support from MissionInvest, the foundation distributed over 30,000 children’s Bibles and thousands of standard Bibles between 2019 and 2022. Assuming an average of four people per household, at least 120,000 people were directly engaged with the Gospel daily!

This new project will distribute a total of 25,000 Bibles, reaching 100,000 people directly with the Gospel through their families.

This child-focused approach has proven highly effective in recent years. Adults have become increasingly interested in the Bible as well. Since 2019, over 900 Bible study groups have been established, meeting weekly! There is a hunger for the Word, and people are requesting additional Bible education. It’s wonderful to see how Trans World Radio supports this with broadcasts. Hundreds of villagers gather around a few transistor radios to listen to the Gospel in their native language. God is blessing this project in extraordinary ways!

Project Costs
The total cost of this project is approximately € 87.000. Of this, the Facilité Foundation will contribute € 37.000 through its own fundraising efforts. MissionInvest has been asked to raise the remaining € 50.000.

MissionInvest is eager to support this unique pioneering project through its network. The approach is simple but has proven highly effective. Our God has opened many doors for the Gospel in Ivory Coast in recent years!

With 900 Bible study groups already established, this work is richly blessed. How wonderful it is to contribute financially and prayerfully to God’s Kingdom by supporting this project!