Over the past five years God has abundantly blessed the faithful preaching of the gospel throughout the ancient land of Egypt. This has been as a result of the prayers and labours of believers gathering to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in New Testament type assemblies which have been planted throughout the country. We now have assemblies established in towns and villages right down the river Nile starting at Sohag in the south and as far away as Alexandria situated on the Mediterranean coastline.
The Word of God in Egypt has over the years been accepted with much affliction as at Thessalonica (1 Thess 1.6), and this situation has not changed even in the year 2005. The believers have suffered much persecution from other religions in recent years, some having known what it is to suffer the loss of all things. Others have suffered interrogation, torture, and imprisonment, and yet they are faithful to the claims of their Saviour upon them.
In the last two years we have had the joy of seeing a number converted from Islam. These have now lost their homes, families, education, and employment, whilst others are in hiding as they are being sought after by the authorities for further questioning and persecution, their only crime being the acceptance of God’s Son as the only Saviour. Please pray for us as we seek to help them in every way we can, both in supplying temporal needs and spiritual encouragement.
In the year 1985 the Lord laid on my heart and that of faithful Egyptian brethren the desire to build a conference centre on the Mediterranean coastline for the arrangement of Bible teaching conferences for all ages as well as Sunday school conferences and series of gospel meetings. God graciously supplied the land and the finance to build this centre and now we can accommodate and cater for as many as three hundred people. We also have a meeting room that will hold approximately three hundred people.
We have been greatly encouraged this year as we were able to present the message of redeeming grace to over one thousand unsaved people who had accepted invitations to the gospel conferences that had been arranged, the preachers being mainly Egyptian brethren. From one area alone in the Delta region we had the joy of seeing thirty-one souls saved and seventeen baptised in one week.
In some areas of Egypt the gospel is preached every night in the week, and the preaching is being so mightily blessed in the salvation of souls that our Gospel Halls are not big enough to cater for the rapid increase in numbers of those being baptised and then seeking fellowship. Please pray for a wonderful Egyptian brother and his wife who labour amongst the people who live in the garbage tip village of Old Cairo. They are dedicated to helping these people who live in filth and squalor and are in desperate need of help. They are both medically qualified and give of their time and skill freely in helping to bring the gospel to these needy souls. A new assembly was planted in this area two years ago.
Although there have been no missionaries to Egypt since 1947, we are glad that those who were labouring there years ago did not only proclaim the message of the gospel but also taught their Egyptian converts the principles of assembly gathering. As a result, today we have men who are both faithful and able in passing the Word of God down to others (2 Tim 2.2). Amongst our assemblies we now have ten commended Egyptian full time workers, who are all able evangelists and who do a great work in pioneering the spread of the gospel particularly in the villages of Upper Egypt.
Six years ago we started to produce every two months three Bible teaching magazines which I assist in editing. They are designed for different age groups, and are financed by the Egypt Christian Fund but printed in Egypt. The magazines now go to many Arabic speaking people living in many countries in the world including the UK, Canada, and America.
I have been visiting Egypt since 1978 on a regular basis, always by invitation from responsible Egyptian brethren, after God had burdened my heart for that country and its persecuted people after my first visit. In the year 1980, along with the help of other faithful brethren from my own assembly and the North of England, the Egypt Christian Fund was formed. The purpose in establishing the fund was to assist in supporting the Egyptian believers in the spread of the gospel and in the planting of New Testament churches within Egypt.
I have been greatly indebted to brethren such as Jim Baker, Jim Hutchinson, Robert Revie, Jim Currie and others who over the years have been prepared to accompany me to Egypt, sometimes living in difficult conditions, to help in the ministry of God’s Word and the proclamation of the gospel. We are still the only Trust Fund in the world seeking to help in this difficult part of God’s harvest field. Over the years we have proved that God is faithful in meeting our every need. We are presently involved in helping with the finance required for the building of three new Gospel Halls and the extension and renovation of two more in Upper Egypt.
