From Field to Force

by Hannah Teague, Creative Director, with Dan McNerney, Associate Director

Highly esteemed throughout the greater Arab world & beyond, Egypt has made an indelible mark on history, culture, education & religion. Its borders link Africa to the remainder of the Eastern Hemisphere & the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean, long since establishing it as a major power in Middle Eastern geopolitics.

Against this backdrop, the Egyptian Church is thriving in the midst of unprecedented movement toward Jesus in Muslim-majority contexts. Once a mission field, Egypt has become a mission force to be reckoned with, and is poised to lead the way in a new era of Gospel proclamation to the world's frontiers.

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Ask Dan McNerney to tell you about Egypt, and you’ll immediately sense the joy radiating from him. But this wasn’t always the case. His journey toward deep affection for this nation—and the larger Arab Muslim community—began one pivotal Tuesday morning nearly 18 years ago.

Like many Americans, the events of September 11, 2001, broke Dan’s world open. Up until that point, his ministry was focused in Latin America and Europe with little awareness of the Middle East or Islam. But this day set in motion a work of God in Dan’s heart, propelling him from confusion and anger to a desire to understand as much as he could about this complex region and faith.

Arab Muslims worldwide were rocked by the events of 9/11. Militant Islam had been gaining strength for some time, but terrorism on such a large scale was formerly unthought of. Many began to question whether violence like this was what Islam truly taught and how that could align with their convictions. A slowlybuilding crisis of faith quickly accelerated as moderates became more moderate, fundamentalists grew more militant and others turned to atheism. At the same time, many Muslims began exploring the teachings of Jesus.

Into this tumultuous period entered the Egyptian Church. Well-established organizations like the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (ETSC), the Synod of the Nile (representing the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Egypt), the Bible Society of Egypt and Kasr El Dobara Church were actively engaged in ministry for years, yet most Protestant Christians had avoided any overt evangelism. In contrast to the historically bold Coptic Orthodox Church (dating back to the 1st century CE and withstanding persecution and martyrdom for more than a millenium), Protestants had remained more muted and cautious. But as this new turmoil within Islam literally brought neighbors to their doors asking to learn more about Isa (Jesus), His people moved forward in faith.

In 2002, conversations with ministry friends opened up the opportunity for Dan to co-lead a trip to Egypt, where he learned more about this newfound receptivity to the Good News of Jesus. Building upon decades of relationships between American and Egyptian Presbyterians, Frontier Fellowship stepped into a deeper level of partnership with these now-beloved brothers and sisters who have increased our capacity to imagine how much more God might do.

In what can only be described as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Muslims across Egypt began encountering Jesus in dreams and visions. They started to question the rigidity of Islam and think more critically about their beliefs. People were hungry for access to the Bible and recognized they often had more common ground with Christians than the fundamentalists of their own faith.

As the early 2000s ushered in the rise of the internet, technological advances, satellite TV and changing attitudes and growing progressivism among young adults, the social fabric of Egypt changed dramatically. And where faithful followers of Jesus had planted and watered, God was bringing forth a harvest.

Together with our sister organization, The Outreach Foundation, we came alongside ETSC to help the seminary respond to these new opportunities. With the formation of the school’s first missions department and implementation of the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course (later translated into Arabic), ETSC began empowering its students to walk into their God-given roles.

“Perspectives added beautiful fuel to the Church,” Dan says. “It helped ministry leaders develop uniquely Egyptian missiology and learn how to indigenize the Gospel. It moved the Church from seeing themselves as those who only receive missionaries and instead as those who send them.”

This growth represented an exciting paradigm shift. “Ten to 15 years ago, church planting wasn’t happening, missionaries weren’t being sent,” shares Dan. Now church planters are working in Egypt, and missionaries have moved abroad to the UK, Germany, United Arab Emirates and South Sudan.

The political unrest, revolution and subsequent coup of 2011–2014 brought about new social and political freedoms for Egyptians in general and Christians in particular. Most view the current presidential administration in a positive light due to the greater religious liberty they’ve received since Sisi came to power. He’s a devout Muslim but rejects fundamentalism and believes Islam needs reform.

Most Egyptians are in favor of a more modern, progressive society and value freer thinking. In comparison to the rest of the Middle East, Egypt welcomes diverse perspectives, and most citizens are unwilling to return to pre-revolution life. Yet the reality of living in a more open society is that it remains physically and politically vulnerable to a wide range of ideologies.

While many Christians are experiencing more freedom of expression, the weight of these threats is palpable. In the eyes of fundamentalists, Christians are the enemy of Islam. Underground terrorist groups are widespread, and Christians and foreign visitors continue to be the target of attacks.

Our partners estimate that in addition to Egypt’s approximately 12 million professing Christians, there are now 3–4 million living in secrecy. In many cases, followers of Jesus from a Muslim background (often called Muslim Background Believers or MBBs) still attend their local mosques and haven’t revealed their new faith to their families. They’re constantly negotiating their dual identities, risking discovery, persecution, relationships and in some cases, their legal standing.

Muslims in Egypt are predominantly Sunni, part of Islam’s largest denomination that comprises at least 85% of the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims (The Oxford Dictionary of Islam). Sunnis take a more traditionalist approach to interpretation of the Quran and consider Shia Islam and minority sects as departures from orthodox belief.

Given Egypt’s social, political and religious influence beyond its borders, it’s a strategic place from which to impact the rest of the Sunni Muslim community with the Good News of Jesus. And its proximity to a number of crises has brought an influx of refugees from Sudan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere.

While Egypt accepts people seeking refuge, it doesn’t build camps and expects refugees to assimilate into society. Our partners see the refugees in their midst as a gift and consider it their responsibility to care for their needs. Through practical support and culturally sensitive approaches to sharing the Gospel, they’re giving themselves to the help and healing of people who’ve endured trauma and loss.

Over the years, we’ve witnessed the expansion of our partners’ ministries as they’ve developed their vision, launched missionary and church planting movements, discipled new followers of Jesus, strengthened church leaders and cared for people’s emotional and spiritual wounds. They’ve asked God to take them to dark places in order to welcome more people into the light of the Gospel.

Seventeen years and more than a dozen trips later, Egypt has become one of the greatest blessings of Dan’s life. “It’s thrilling to help Americans discover what God is doing in Egypt. The joy of taking people to sit at the feet of fully devoted Christians who are risking everything to follow Jesus has only grown after all these years. It’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever been a part of.”

Our partners consider this a kairos moment for the Egyptian Church. The increasing globalization of our world is opening up access to the Good News like never before, and we’d be remiss to not pay attention.

“Our partners are asking God to tear down the walls that keep people from encountering the Good News of His Kingdom,” Dan says. “They’re praying for the Holy Spirit to emancipate people from the slavery of their religion, to open their eyes to see the grace, beauty and freedom Jesus offers. Why wouldn’t we join what God started here?”