The indigenous missionaries work sacrificially in Egypt, usually ministering to the poorest and often illiterate people. Their mission is twofold: to share the message of the gospel and lead social work, which often brings a major change for many.
Baptist Witness in Egypt
The multiethnic and socially diverse population of Egypt numbers nearly 115 million. About 90% are nominal Muslims and only 10% are Christians, Coptic and Orthodox being the largest groups. Evangelical Christians are the “minority of minority” because they comprise only about 10% of the Christian margin. One of the serious social issues is illiteracy, as the percentage of Egyptian people aged 15 and above who can read and write was around 75 per cent in 2022 (according to Worldometer of the United Nations).
The beginning of the Baptist movement in Egypt is associated with Rev. Saddik Gerges. He was the first Egyptian Baptist to study theology in the United States who returned home in the early 1930’s to start the Baptist ministry in his homeland. Through his pioneering efforts, many indigenous churches were planted.
The Egyptian Baptist Convention is now led by Rev. Khalaf Barakat. The organization is comprised of 19 local churches with a total membership of 2250. There are also several groups which are considered church plants. The convention leaders regularly commission ministry teams for the dual mission: gospel proclamation and social work.
Church Planting
The EBF has been supporting several indigenous mission workers in Egypt. Find below a few excerpts from the recent reports of Naim, who is currently aided by EBF:
Report 2023
"The Lord has blessed us with a great team of volunteers who have passion for the ministry. Some of them lead worship. Others teach the word of God. Some others work hard to visit those with specific needs, like orphans and widows, the poor and the sick. We greatly enjoy working with the volunteers.
We have now a growing number of people who attend our services. Women, children and teens ministries have grown recently, so much so that the meeting hall we are using is becoming too small. We thank God that the neighbourhood shows much openness.
At the same time, we face challenges. Some church members lost work recently and the church offerings dropped. On the other hand, the ministry needs have increased. Many of our people support the church with the little they have (literally the widow’s Mite).
Poverty and illiteracy are two big problems that lead to many other issues we deal with as we try to minister to our people. Religious intolerance is another predicament. The people we serve face pressure from the religious leaders who try to stop them from attending “evangelical” meetings. All in all, we see how the Lord works in the lives of those who are faithful. "
Report 2024
"Last winter we held revival meetings in cooperation with some evangelists. Thank God we managed to reach many new people and rejoiced as we saw them making decisions for Christ. Now we coordinate a follow-up work with them as they attend the church services.
By God’s grace, we managed to visit several new families and individuals. During visits, we read the Bible and pray together, and also encourage them to start sharing the good news of God’s grace with their neighbours.
Our weekly meetings are as follows: Corporate Sunday Worship at 10:00 am & 7:00 pm, Midweek Bible Study on Tuesday at 7:00 pm, Prayer on Wednesday at 7:00 pm, Women’s Meeting on Thursday at 10:30 am, Friday (Egyptian Weekend) - Family Service 11:00 am, Youth Meeting 2:00 pm, Corporate Worship Meeting 7:00 pm.
Praise the Lord for the various talents He has equipped the church with. Some serve as Bible teachers, others volunteer to lead worship, some serve different age groups, and others care for the widows and orphans, and help sick and old people. It is great to work together.
I lately attended seminars and conferences for ministry training reasons. That was of great benefit to me personally and helped me develop as a minister in the church.
The hall we use for meetings has become too small for the number of people we serve. We need a bigger building that will include the different ministries and provide more holistic care for our neighbourhood."
Prayer requests
The mission workers in Egypt usually start a ministry by providing social help to build up trust and later try moving towards the gospel presentation through the so-called ‘orality method’ (telling bible stories to the illiterates), and eventually invite them to meetings where the bible stories may be discussed in groups and the principles of spiritual life explained.
Pray that the Evangelical churches may witness boldly and take current opportunities as long as it is possible.
Pray for the Egyptians that the light of the Gospel may disperse the spiritual darkness, including illiteracy.
Pray for wisdom and strength to overcome obstacles in the ministry, including fanaticism that hinders people from listening to the Word of God.
In Christ,
Daniel Trusiewicz
EBF Mission Coordinator
Planting new churches together! For the glory of God!