GIMP Plugin Registry

I am an absolute newbie to gimp. I am doing my own screen printing for my band. I have used MS office for years to do my design work but I am trying out gimp for the extra design capabilities. What I need to know is how to create text outlines??? In office the outline is just an option of the text tab and you can choose the color, texture, and width. I want an outline around text to make it stand out more on my shirts. Which means I need red text with black outline. 2 different screens(black and red screens). I am also using arclayer to curve the text so just making a second layer with larger text in a different color will not line up. Any Suggestions????

Also is there a Halftone filter or plugin to get that dot matrix cartoon look??? I know Photoshop has one. I have a couple of designs that I want to do but I will need to be able to create some halftones.