The Catalytic Trip of 2002
INSTALLMENT 4 OF THE HISTORY OF THE OUTREACH FOUNDATION IN EGYPT
by Jeff Ritchie
A Joint Outreach Foundation-Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship Initiative
One of the significant aspects of the early involvement of The Outreach Foundation in Egypt was how much we worked in complementary ways with another Presbyterian mission organization, Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship (PFF). This mission was founded in 1981 by Presbyterians who wished to rekindle a passion for evangelism and mission among the least-evangelized people of the world. Much of its work was focused on people groups in the Muslim world.
The Rev. Dan McNerney joined its staff in 1996 and had some contact with the world of Islam through trips to Bosnia in the aftermath of the inter-religious and ethnic wars in the region. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in September 2001 deeply moved him, and he turned his eyes to the heartland of Islam, the Middle East. When McNerney met Dr. Swailem Hennein a few years before, Dr. Swailem had encouraged him to go to Egypt. Now Dan felt a palpable need to do something in the Middle East.
Knowing of the interest of The Outreach Foundation in Egypt, Dan called me in late fall, 2001, and we decided to sponsor a joint Outreach-PFF trip to Egypt in the spring of 2002. Our common interest was how we could help the Presbyterian Church in Egypt engage in the “reconciliation evangelism” that we had heard about from Dr. Swailem. The Outreach Foundation did the advance work to set up the trip through our connection with Darren and Elisabeth Kennedy, and in mid-May 2002, twenty persons arrived in Egypt for a two-week experience that would change our lives.
What We Saw
We spent much time at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, but we were also introduced to many other ministries that gave us an indication of the spirit of outreach already present in the Church in Egypt. We went north to Alexandria and saw new church developments, a ministry to children with mental disabilities, and a ministry to Sudanese refugees. In Cairo and its environs, we visited new church developments, the Bible Society of Egypt, Kasr El Doubara Church which is the largest Presbyterian congregation in the Middle East, the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS), and a vibrant Orthodox ministry on the edge of a “garbage village,” so named because most of the residents of that community collect the garbage of the city of Cairo. Various para-church ministries, some international and some originating in Egypt, were introduced to us as well.
Egypt is an ancient land with marvelous antiquities, and we spent a little time touring in Alexandria and Cairo. In the former, we saw the Greco-Roman Museum. In the latter, we saw the Pyramids and went sailing on the Nile River. Our final excursion was to Mount Sinai where we trekked from the Monastery of St. Catherine to the summit of the mountain, arriving just as the sun was coming up.
People We Met
Because the group had been recruited by both of our mission organizations, we spent some of the first days getting to know each other. We represented mission organizations, church staffs, and mission committees. Our team included seminarians, new pastors, and a couple of Egyptian Americans who were already deeply involved in mission in their country of origin. Over time many of those on the trip would become deeply connected with each other and with the Church in Egypt. But all that lay ahead of us.
The first Egyptian we met upon landing was Tharwat Wahib Wahba, the seminary student whom the Cairo Seminary had selected to become the mission professor at the seminary. He, along with Darren Kennedy, greeted us warmly at the airport and got us settled in at the Cairo Seminary which would be our base for most of the trip.
The first full day in Egypt set the tone for the rest of our visit. At the seminary, we had two orientations to the Church in Egypt, one from the Rev. Dr. Atef Gendy, President of the Seminary, and one from Elder Ramez Atallah, Director of the Bible Society of Egypt. Both leaders cast a vision for the incredible opportunity for outreach and mission that the Church in Egypt had at this moment. This was news to us because before our trip we had mostly heard about the obstacles to witness to Jesus in the Muslim world.
Dr. Atef said, “Many people outside of Egypt do not understand that we have an unprecedented amount of freedom to speak about the word of God in our country. The religious context permits, and even fosters, this freedom.” Almost every time he travels, Dr. Atef shared, he has the chance to give a witness to his faith. Even though witness and service in the Middle Eastern context are difficult, Dr. Atef affirmed that the church in Egypt should reclaim its heritage of witness, for the ground is prepared to hear the good news. He told us, “If you see something good, encourage it.” He also exhorted us to share our difficulties in evangelism, so that the Egyptian Christians may realize that there are problems everywhere and that no one person or church or denomination “has it all together.”
Mr. Ramez Atallah gave us a short history of the Church in Egypt and spoke of the work of the Bible Society of Egypt. The Bible Society of Egypt engages both Christians and Muslims in many creative ways with a call to read and study the Bible. Sometimes creative outreach has occurred in the aftermath of national disasters, such as the 1992 earthquake. At other times, including the present time, they have responded to new openness on the part of the government for Christians to give public witness by such projects as installing billboards along the major highways. On our way to Alexandria, for example, we saw a set of three billboards advertising the Bible: “Read the Bible” — "It Will Change Your Life” — "Call to Get Your Copy Today.” Others advertised the “Jesus Film.” Both Bibles and the Jesus Film could be bought at rest areas of these inter-city highways where the Bible Society had rented kiosks. As Ramez said, “We may not be able to evangelize, but we can advertise!”
The following day we went to Alexandria where we met other fascinating Christians involved in witness and service. The Women’s Organization of the Presbytery in that area told us of the new church they hoped to establish within their new training facility. An entrepreneurial pastor, the Rev. Gendy Rizk, showed us two new church developments and a ministry for children with mental handicaps that his local congregation had started. Mr. Tawfik George, a deeply committed lay leader from an Egyptian mission, “Think and Do,” shared how his mission forms lay people for evangelistic witness and provides them with vocational training.
Dr. Swailem and Tharwat Wahba accompanied us on this three-day trip. We had the opportunity to get to know Tharwat, a former staff of Campus Crusade for Christ in Egypt, as he shared his faith journey, his call to teach mission, and his research into where he might study for the Ph.D. For more than half the group, it was their first meeting with Dr. Swailem, and they were inspired as he spoke on reconciliation evangelism in more detail over the days at Beit el Salaam.
Returning to Cairo, we worshiped on Sunday with the Kasr El Doubara Church and had a precious time with their Co-Pastors, the Rev. Menes Abdel Noor and the Rev. Sameh Maurice. The church they serve is a beehive of mission activity. Their pastors serve upwards of half their time with other churches and organizations. They are developing a youth sports ministry, a drug rehabilitation work, and have sent their own missionaries to Arab-speaking communities throughout the Middle East and Europe.
It was their witness among the majority population, that is, the 90% of Egyptians who are Muslim, that was most electrifying. One of their members told a participant in our group, "This is a formative moment in the church's history and witness. Egyptians were horrified by the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and many are re-evaluating their Muslim faith that could have inspired such mass murder." Others told us that Muslims were coming to faith in Jesus because they have had dreams or visions of him. We were encouraged to pray that more Muslims would have such dreams and visions of Jesus.
The Rev. Dr. Abdel Masih Istafanous, General Secretary of the Synod of the Nile, was most anxious for us to see the new churches that the Synod of the Nile (another name for the Presbyterian Church of Egypt) had begun, and we devoted a day to see these bold initiatives.
We went to the Evangelical Church in 10th of Ramadan City, one of only two churches allowed in a new city east of Cairo which already had 200,000 people. The church was founded by Presbyterian laypersons and had recently called a pastor, the Rev. Helmy Hennein. The Rev. Helmy, who had been a missionary of the Egyptian Church to Sudan and Kuwait, was a man of great vision, faith, and contagious joy. With initial support from The Outreach Foundation, the church had laid the foundation of their new sanctuary. Their next goal was to see the church roofed within three years.
The other Synod priority for us to see was a new church in the city on the 15th of May, which we did. This church also had laid its foundation but was not as far along in its development as was the 10th of Ramadan. It was clear to see that both churches had a vision for outreach, and the Synod was hopeful that our trip would result in mission partners for each new church.
The Impact of the 2002 Trip on Participants
At various times during this catalytic vision trip to Egypt, we discussed what we were seeing and experiencing in Egypt. Here is a summary of one of those discussions:
We have seen the Egyptian Christians show confidence in the truth of the gospel and creativity in sharing the gospel.
It’s a new day in the Church here (breakthrough beyond fear).
The pivotal nature of the Cairo Seminary for the Church in Egypt is evident, as is the strategic nature of Egypt and the Church in Egypt for reaching the Middle East with the Gospel.
This is the right time for forward progress in such matters as approval for church construction, for the government is more generous in granting permits. Let us assist while the attitude is good.
It is so important to equip the saints (Egyptian Christians) for their ministry in this new day for the Church.
Commitments Made to Strengthen the Church in Egypt
Towards the end of the trip, Dan McNerney and I highlighted the mission commitments we sensed our respective organizations were ready to make, and we invited our fellow participants to join us in considering the following:
Strengthening the Cairo Seminary, especially its Mission Initiatives—support for Tharwat Wahba’s studies; translation of Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, which became the basic mission text of the seminary; and initial training of grass-roots workers in “reconciliation evangelism.”
Support for new church development, especially the church in 10th of Ramadan City.
Partnership with Egyptian congregations and ministries that were already involved in evangelism and mission among Muslim peoples in Egypt and the wider Middle East.
All the trip participants sensed that they wanted to be part of what God was doing in and through Egypt, and the next decade and a half would show just how deep those involvements would become.