Egypt (MNN) — Of all the Majority-Arab countries in the Middle East, Egypt has the largest Christian population. More about that here. There are many well-established churches and parachurch ministries in Egypt, but seminaries are more difficult to find.
“PTEE [is] needed because there [are] no seminaries in Upper Egypt and in the south. The seminaries are, most of them, in Cairo,” says Abraham*, a believer serving with the Program for Theological Education by Extension (PTEE).
PTEE offers accredited theological courses for Gospel workers in the Arab world. Learn more about PTEE’s work here. By studying online, believers can avoid unwanted attention, which often leads to persecution.
“We teach them how to do discipleship for the new believer, how to do a lot of work inside the church, and also about evangelism outside the church,” Abraham says.
“[When] leaders cannot go to Cairo to study in Bible school, the program [goes] to the church.”
(Photo courtesy of Martin Widenka/Unsplash)
“We have more than 150 students studying from Egypt. [In] places where leaders cannot go to Cairo to study in Bible school, the program [goes] to the church.”
Plus, the training can be multiplied. This allows every PTEE graduate to develop more Egyptian Christian leaders. “We train a pastor or a church leader and he gives training to other people in the village,” Abraham says.
Equipping believers remotely furthers their “attempts to reach unreached villages and unreached (people) groups in the south of Egypt,” he adds.
Find critical prayer needs here. “Pray for leaders who suffer from some difficulties, and also for the families which have no chance to go to school,” Abraham requests.
“We have a lot of people who [do] not know how to read [or] write, and we try to teach this [through] discipleship groups.”
*Pseudonym
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Aaron Burden/Unsplash.
