FAQ's

• How long has Oasis been working in Africa?

  In 1994, Oasis began to serve the people of Nigeria with Christian books and Bibles. At that time, few resources were available to grow the Church. Oasis worked to revive and encourage the market, working with a chain of 23 Christian bookshops, two wholesale centers, and special projects such as distributing hundreds of thousands of Bibles to primary school children for their "Christian Religious Knowledge" classes.

  Seeing the success of importation in Nigeria and the need of other nations, in 2004 Oasis developed an initiative to serve the economically-challenged majority of English speaking Christians across Africa. Few imported books are inexpensive enough to meet the financial needs of those making only a few hundred dollars a month. To meet these needs, Oasis began publishing low-cost editions of books for Africa. Ten years later, well over 100 titles were in print selling into fourteen countries, two titles selling over 500,000 copies each. Today, Oasis has seen over seven million books and Bibles go out to feed God's people in Africa. The majority of these books have been made available at under $5.00 retail, making books affordable for Africa's poor majority.

  With limited resources, Oasis has helped to grow the faith of seven million people in Africa over the last two decades; we believe we can see tens of millions touched in the next decades. The Africa Study Bible was launched in English in 2017 and French in 2022. This, along with other African-initiated resources, can be the tools that allow Oasis to move from reaching millions to reaching tens of millions.

  Click here to see a timeline of the Oasis Story.

• Who founded Oasis?

  Edward Elliott, an international Christian publishing executive, founded the Oak Foundation (which became Oasis International) in 1978 with his wife, Virginia. His founding purpose was the distribution of Christian books and Bibles on a sustainable basis to underserved regions of the world where economic poverty is pervasive. 

• Does Oasis distribute free Bibles in Africa?

  The Oasis model maximizes the value of each donation because as Bibles are paid for, the money is used to print and fund more Bibles. Compared to traditional Bible distribution models, Oasis extends the reach of every contribution.

  • For every $1,000 donated, 625 Africans can own their own Bible (every 5 years).
  • Your generosity provides quality and reasonably priced biblical resources to individuals, families, churches, institutions, and organizations.

   

• How do the Bibles get delivered to the pastors, leaders, and schoolchildren in Africa?

  Oasis works with partners on the ground such us NGOs, churches, theological institutions, and schools who purchase Bibles and books for their training and discipleship needs.

  Oasis also has a commercial network of distributors and stores across Africa who purchase our quality Bibles and books at affordable wholesale prices and earn a fair profit, thus enabling a truly self-sustaining African publishing enterprise to serve the global church.

• Does Oasis translate Bibles into local African languages?

  No. Oasis publishes Bibles in English and French with plans to begin printing in Portuguese in the future.

  According to Wycliffe statistics, the Bible has already been translated for the reading language of as many as 90% of Africans. While we should not rest until this number has reached 100%, there needs to be balance in our approach to how we resource Bible ministry.

  Nearly every child below the Sahara Desert learns to read English, French or Portuguese in school. This means that most readers in Africa are literate in English, French, or Portuguese – they oftentimes prefer reading in one of these languages over their mother tongue.

• Why does Oasis publish in English?

  Our research shows that there are an estimated 400 million English readers throughout Africa, with an estimated 250 million of those being Christians. We have started publishing in English and French, and we plan to continue into Portuguese.

• What is the Africa Study Bible?

  The Africa Study Bible is a study Bible with over 2600 notes and features created by 350 contributors from 50 countries. The notes are put along side the New Living Translation. Visit africastudybible.com for more information and FAQs.

• How many books does Oasis publish?

  We have over 60 active titles! Check out our full catalogue.

• How can someone equip their favourite ministry?

  You can help empower the church in Africa by getting involved in Oasis's mission of Africans discipling Africa, transforming churches, and transforming lives by: 

  • Gifting pastors and leaders with Bibles through our Sowers of God's Word program.
  • Sponsoring a project that is equipping pastors with God's Word through training and use of the Africa Study Bible.
  • Getting Bibles into the hands of schoolchildren across Africa, through our School Bibles program.
  • Joining the Africa Bible Fund – an opportunity to bridge the capital gap and cover the costs of printing and distributing Bibles to equip the vibrant church in Africa.
  • Praying with us for our ministry partners, special projects, and the work of the church in Africa and asking for God's provision, protection, and guidance as they work to spread the gospel and disciple believers in Africa.
  • Learn about the church in Africa which is is now the centre of global Christianity and will exert greater and greater influence in the global church.