FROM OHIO TO THE WORLD
by Stan Griffin
From a southwest Ohio church basement has come a publishing enterprise that over the last 25 years has produced almost 2 ˝ billion tracts (small religious pamphlets) printed in more than 60 languages, spreading the Gospel around the world.
The Fellowship Tract League, a project of the Morrow, Ohio Fellowship Baptist Church, has two three-color presses in its South Lebanon facility that (every Tuesday) can produce 125,000 tracts per hour. Manning the equipment are 15 full-time staffers with 30-50 volunteers donating their time.
The League uses missionaries and translating services to produce tracts in languages from A to Z (Albanian to Zambia). Right after the fall of the Soviet Union, they distributed numerous tracts to the new nations which arose. During the Gulf War, they sent tracts to Arabia and Iraq. They are now focusing on central and southern Africa.
Beginning in 1984, a group of men met regularly in a small study room to begin the day with 30 minutes of Bible reading and prayer. "We were finding verses to bring the Gospel to the whole world ... (what) we are commanded to do ..." said Fellowship’s current pastor, Wash Pennington.
The League is financially supported by offerings from Baptist members as well donations from other churches.