Egypt #4: El Fayoum - An Oasis in the Western Desert
El Fayoum: An Oasis in the Western Desert
By Tom McDow, Outreach Trustee
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN
On Saturday, we traveled two hours west of Cairo to Fayoum, a historic oasis area in the desert west of Cairo. There we visited four churches and an NGO. The Fayoum Area or District is composed of 4 million people, many located in the key city of El Fayoum, some in various villages or “ghettos” and small towns which are poor, and in new cities being built by the government to encourage people to move out of the congested cities of Cairo and Fayoum. Amazingly, the government is giving land for churches to be built in these new community developments – within a limited period of time.
The key city is El Fayoum, where the Evangelical (Presbyterian) Church of Fayoum is located. This church has a beautiful, historic sanctuary and church building, a competent staff and a very capable pastor, and a congregation with a clear vision. Their vision has a twofold focus: (1) church planting/revitalization, and (2) developing ministries to address the critical needs of the surrounding community. Their vision includes the 6-8 Fayoum District churches & church plants which this church supports with volunteer leaders and needed resources, including the Tamiya Church revitalization.
Tamiya Church, our first visit, is located in an impoverished community. Tamiya’s sanctuary is over 100 years old and badly in need of replacement, but the greatest need is for a pastor to stay a long time to nurture a strong congregation and relationships with neighbors. Tamiya has a house, which it uses for discipleship meetings, and the only area playground. It has vibrant children’s and youth programs, thanks to leadership from a young couple who volunteer from the Evangelical Church of Fayoum. Tamiya is the only Evangelical (Protestant) Church in that part of El Fayoum (which of course is predominantly Muslim, with many fanatics) and yet has one of the larger concentrations of Christians in Fayoum District. Tamiya Church has only 60 members, yet many more attend, in part because of the following. After reading Jeremiah 24 and in particular Jeremiah 24:7, “…They will be my people, and I will be their God, for THEY WILL RETURN TO ME WITH ALL THEIR HEART,” the congregation was inspired to hold meetings for 90 straight nights last summer to introduce neighboring people to the good news. They invited us to join them in praying for the shalom (flourishing and peace) of their city.
We also visited the Sinnuris Evangelical Church, which is the third oldest evangelical church in Egypt, having been formed in 1873. The sanctuary is in need of serious repair or rebuilding. Pastor Maged shared with us this 150-year-old congregation’s rich heritage of having 12 sons of members become pastors. The church has received permission to demolish the very old building and rebuild, but needs $500 thousand (USD). The church also has a long history of providing a medical clinic for the surrounding neighborhood in an adjoining house the church owns and has registered as an NGO.
In the nearby village of Damo, the Fayoum churches run a larger NGO to serve many needs of their neighbors. Because the building is not a church, members of the majority culture can receive a variety of services there, and it has been a fruitful outreach.
Our last visit was to the site of a new church plant on property provided by the government’s development work in the city of New Fayoum. Many apartments and homes have been built in anticipation of people relocating from Cairo to this new city, though for now they mostly stand empty – providing us a welcome reprieve from traffic! We were impressed with Brother Ashra, who uprooted his family and followed God’s call to help plant a new church in New Fayoum. He serves as Vice Principal of the school and has opportunities to counsel with parents and students, thus building relationships within the community. He currently has 5 families who gather weekly for worship. Before departing we gave thanks for Brother Ashra and asked God’s blessing on this new church plant and its ministry in New Fayoum.
We were inspired by the work that God is doing through the Synod of the Nile, the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo, and the Evangelical Church of Egypt. We were impressed by the unity within the churches of Egypt, and how they are all “rowing in the same direction” planting churches and developing meaningful mission projects to address the needs of their respective communities. We finished our day with full hearts for the churches we visited and for the amazing Christian leaders we met.
