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Abitibi / Outaouais
abitioutaouais


 

 

 

Geography:

The Abitibi region is situated in north-western Quebec, adjacent to the Ontario border and on the northern route leading to James Bay. It includes a vast network of lakes and rivers and open spaces.

The Outaouais Region is on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. This four-season paradise is especially stunning decked out in its autumn colours.

Population:

In the Abitibi region a population of 156,000 is centered in the central/eastern sector of the region, and is concentrated in the towns of Rouyn-Noranda, La Sarre, Amos, Senneterre and Val-d'Or.

In the Outaouais, the bulk of the population is clustered in the cities of Hull and Gatineau, but the countryside throughout the region is dotted with towns and villages.

Economy:

In the northwest, the principle industries are mining (copper, silver and gold), forestry, and farming. There is also a small manufacturing base.

In the Outaouais region, the cities of Ottawa, Hull and Gatineau provide much of the region’s employment for the Federal government. Many people also work in the high-tech industry and in the service sector.

Ministry:

The Abitibi region served as the cradle of the French Fellowship Baptist work in Quebec. From the 1930s to the mid-1950s, missionaries, pastors and other brave men and women were persecuted for preaching the gospel in the open air. The opposition from municipal authorities was fierce and well organized. Christians were repeatedly arrested and imprisoned, for a cumulative total of over seven years. After gaining national and even international media attention, municipal authorities relented and granted permission for Christians to present their message in public.

Today, the Abitibi region has French Fellowship Baptist churches in Val-d'Or and La Sarre, as well as the remnants of a lapsed work in Rouyn-Noranda.

In the Outaouais region, there are three autonomous French Fellowshipfootprints Baptist churches in Hull, Gatineau and Buckingham (these towns have now been amalgamated into the city of Gatineau). In Maniwaki, about 90 minutes north of Gatineau, there is also a small church without a pastor.

To read more about the persecution pioneer missionaries suffered in the early years of evangelism in Quebec, read Facing Prison Bars, an excerpt from Murray Heron's autobiography Footprints Across Quebec.  

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