Teaching a new generation to love the Bible in Egypt

The penny is dropping for Samir, a young engineer from Egypt. He’s having a moment of quiet revelation … a sudden, unexpected, fresh understanding of the Bible. It will change everything about how he shares God’s word.

‘We need the big picture!’ Samir exclaims. ‘Without learning the context of the Bible passages we read, most of the time we interpret it wrongly. We need both the near and far context to connect the Bible together.’

Samir is one of 1,000 young people who have been trained as Bible study group leaders in Egypt over the past year. He’s part of an extraordinary ministry which is seeing a new generation engage with Scripture in a transformative way. God is clearly at work, and Bible Society supporters are part of the story. 

A young, connected community

‘Egypt is a collective culture, and much more religious than the UK,’ said Lois Nagieb, who works for Bible Society in Egypt. ‘Children and young people here are receptive to God’s word. So we’re building on that to develop a love and attachment to the Bible among teens, to grow their Christian faith.’

Egypt has an overwhelmingly young population. More than half of people are 24 or under, and a third are aged under 14. About one person in ten is a Christian and the majority of these are from the Coptic Orthodox Church. Life for members of this ancient, often isolated minority revolves around church.

‘In one poor district in Cairo, there’s a church with 3,000 kids and teenagers,’ said Lois. ‘The church is everything; it provides summer activities, a safe social community, entertainment for the children, health clinics, tutoring. Going to church is not an obligation but a privilege and a joy.’

Alongside this powerful sense of togetherness, Egypt’s churches place a high value on Scripture, and God’s word is central to the rich, meaningful liturgies, celebrated in community. With your support, our team build on this reverence by helping people engage with the Bible. 

Inspiring Bible-reading

In this context, the Bible Society team in Egypt run three vital projects for young people – and the first is about training leaders like Samir. The team works hand-in-hand with the church to equip young people. Participants get into God’s word in a way they never have before. Their lives are changed and then they, too, step up to support church activities, including leading Bible study groups.

‘This programme has been a real breakthrough,’ said Lois. ‘More and more requests are coming from churches and the potential is limitless.’

The second element is training Sunday school teachers. Even providing basic support to 500 teachers a year can impact more than 20,000 children. Leaders receive tips on effective teaching, classroom management, understanding how children develop and bringing biblical themes to life.

Finally, your support is sharing the Bible online. Social media is huge in Egypt – the country has one of the highest rates of social media use in the world – and culturally, Egyptians prefer oral storytelling to reading. So the team is providing bespoke audio Scriptures for children and teens, along with more social media content.

‘Serving and supporting’

The impact of all this is plain to see. Walk into any Egyptian church and you’ll see children and young people everywhere, delighting in God’s word and engaging in Bible groups.

‘Your support is filling a need gap,’ said Lois. ‘You are serving and supporting the church with biblical materials and creative resources which are not only appropriate to the traditional context, but are helping young people love the Bible.’

If you want to support the training of Christian leaders and provide children and young people with Scriptures in Egypt and elsewhere, join Bible a Month today.  

Your generous donation of £10 or more each month will have a huge impact on Bible work around the world. Four times a year you’ll receive the Bible a Month prayer letter, packed with inspiring stories that show your generosity changing lives. 

(This is an adaptation of a story that first appeared in Bible Society’s magazine, Word in Action.)