Egypt #3: “Stretch Your Tent Curtains Wide” - Inspiration from Cairo Area Churches
“Stretch Your Tent Curtains Wide” - Inspiration from Cairo Area Churches
By Anne Keener, First Presbyterian Church, Franklin, TN
Day 3 brought a combination of sightseeing at the Pyramids and three church visits. The vastness of the Pyramids, paired with the excellent history lesson from our expert guide Mourad Sedky (Mirus Voyages), provided a meaningful morning. We not only viewed the Pyramids from the ground but also from a camel, which was a joyful experience. After taking in the Sphinx, we made our way to the first church of the day. I learned map apps aren’t as reliable in Egypt as we struggled to find a couple of the churches.
Our first visit was to the church in Maadi where we met with the Asis (pastor in Arabic) Nesim Fadl, and several Sheikhs (elder in Arabic). The church is actively under construction as we learned when wet cement fell on some of us while waiting to use the facilities. We met in the basement where they had desserts and beverages for us. Irini, who works for the Synod of the Nile and joined as interpreter for all our visits, helped Asis Nesim share a PowerPoint presentation about the church and its ministries. The congregation has been worshipping since 2005, and the pastor has been there since 2014. Building is always complicated in Egypt, but this congregation had to first expel squatters off their property before they could begin construction. The initial construction was to quickly build a wooden structure to provide a place to worship (outside of the homes where they began) until they could raise money to build the permanent building they are still constructing.
Their vision is from Isaiah 54:2. “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”
They are certainly mission-oriented, as some of their ministries include:
Employment Assistance Ministry where they help people with interview skills and other aspects of a job search
Provide space for Interfaith Dialogue
Provide breakfast for Muslim neighbors during Ramadan
13 African groups meet under their roof
Strong Youth Ministry and young adult ministry
The pastor and elders call themselves the “church of miracles” for all the things that have happened for them to be where they are. God is certainly at work. We met in the basement but spent time in the sanctuary that is under construction. The pastor asked for us to pray for the building process and for him. We prayed as a group for those things and more before sharing some small gifts and saying our goodbyes.
After we enjoyed lunch on the Nile and toured around the American Project area several times while searching for the next church, their pastor, Asis Sabri, eventually met our van so we could follow him to the church. Much of the American Project Church had met for lunch at 1 PM and were still in the sanctuary waiting for us when we arrived at 5 PM. We were enthusiastically welcomed by singing of all ages. The children were especially filled with excitement and treated us like royalty as we entered the sanctuary.
American aid that was provided 30 years ago created this area, which is now unfortunately rundown. The government had given this church the land, and then they split it with the Coptic Orthodox Church. They have active children, youth, and women’s ministries. They are planning to work with their Muslim neighbors to build a playground for the community as they do not have one in their neighborhood. They showed us a video about their congregation which included their vision verse, 2 Samuel 7:2 and 10:
The Lord said to Nathan the prophet,
‘Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.’
‘…thus far God has helped us.’
…”And I will provide a place for my people…and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed.”
This passage has been a marker for them that they have a future.
They also extended us abundant hospitality with homemade cakes and beverages in Asis Sabri’s office. We met his daughter, Sandy (who leads the Children’s Ministry) and his wife (who leads the Women’s Ministry) in addition to other members. The Sabri family is passionate about serving God. They asked for prayers for the building project, for growth of their membership and ministries, and for more elders to lead the church. We concluded our visit with prayer.
Our last visit of the day was at the Fifteenth of May Church. They were having a youth/young adult meeting and asked us to share a message for those gathered. After some music which they sang in Arabic and in English, Evangeline shared a wonderful message connecting the importance of Egypt in Scripture and the awareness that miracles continue to happen today when we have eyes to recognize God at work all around us. After worship, we toured the building which is an active construction zone. They worship on the bottom floor, the sanctuary which is under construction is on the second floor, and the top floor has classrooms and a large prayer room. The Egyptian hospitality continued as they also had sweets and beverages awaiting us. We prayed together before driving back to Cairo.
This visit ended up being a wonderful reunion as Nancy had visited the church with an Outreach Foundation team 20 years ago! At that time, there was only a hole in the ground, and the team visited with Asis Anwar and his wife, Dr. Rasha, in their living room. The team had mixed emotions as we discussed the visit. It is wonderful that Asis Anwar and Dr. Rasha have been serving at this church for 20 years with an active congregation, but it was also sad to see they are still waiting to have a completed sanctuary after 20 years. The police seemed concerned or at least curious about our visit, so Mourad spent the time outside visiting with them.
It was a wonderful, long, emotional day experiencing the joy of the churches while also seeing they all are in the middle of long-term building projects without a known end date. I appreciate the deep faith and trust of the Christians we met as they are such a small minority in Egypt. I am inspired by their love of scripture and passion to glorify God in all they do. The church in Egypt is focused outside itself. Many of their ministries are focused on serving their neighbors (including the majority culture) as well as their own. They are actively participating in God’s work as they serve with joyful hearts. I pray I can do likewise.
