Egypt is home to the fastest growing population in the Middle East and the largest Christian population in the Arab world. It remains a strategic location for Christian activity across North Africa and the Middle East. There are many well established evangelical churches and parachurch ministries that focus on reaching both nominal Christians and Muslims with the Gospel. Several of these groups also send Arab missionaries across the region.
Life for Christians:
Although there are exceptions, according to reports of targeted attacks in recent years, Coptic Christians have historically been given the freedom to worship – provided they do not engage in any evangelistic outreaches among the Muslim-majority community. Likewise, Christians who are evangelical face tremendous opposition from militant Islamists, including the denial of proper medical care in hospitals and clinics. Christian converts from Islam face the most problems, such as expulsion from their families, divorce instigated by their Muslim spouses, estrangement from their children, and loss of employment.
Current Ministry Project
VOMC works with international partners to provide a safe place of refuge, counsel and discipleship for Christians from Muslim backgrounds who were forced to flee their homes due to religious pressure from their families, and/or have experienced ostracization from others in their communities because of their identity in Christ.
Legal system Mixed legal system based on Napoleonic civil and penal law, Islamic religious law, and vestiges of colonial-era laws
Source: World Factbook
Pray for Egypt
Pray on behalf of those who are facing economic and social challenges because of their Christian faith. Ask the Lord to provide for their spiritual and practical needs – further strengthening and emboldening them so they can effectively share the message of the Gospel with others in their communities. May the hearts of those who hear it be open and receptive to the wonderful truths contained in God’s Word.
While the Egyptian government formed a committee in September 2016 to work through 3,730 applications to legalize unlicenced church buildings, the process has been slow. When VOMC last reported on the situation in September 2021, there were still 1,772 applications rem
A Christian man and his elderly father were shot dead by Islamic terrorists on August 30th while working in their field. Police found the bodies of 40-year-old Hani Waheeb Moussa and his father Salama after family members had lost contact with them. Han
The Coptic church traces its presence in Egypt back to the first century. Photo: Flickr / Edgardo W. Olivera (cc)
In 2016, a government committee was established in Egypt to work through more than 3,700 applications for the legalization of previously unlicenced church buildings. While the process
Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt Photo: Wikipedia / Ahmad Badr (cc)
On February 9th, the Egyptian president officially swore in the new head of the country's Supreme Constitutional Court: Boulos (Paul) Fahmy Eskandar. Judge Eskandar is the first Coptic Christian to be appointed to this positi