Egyptian Churches Expand Youth Sports, Arts, Training and Service Programs

The Egyptian churches are expanding their work with young people through sports, artistic and cultural activities, and conferences. One example is the Lugos Forum, held this year at the Wadi Al-Nattroun monastery, which drew 200 young people and girls from across the governorates of the Republic.

The Orthodox Church describes young people as the infrastructure of society and the vital energy of the Church and the homeland, and says they should receive appropriate care. The Orthodox Pope, according to the report, assigned a bishop and a body of monks to oversee youth work and to cooperate with other bishops, priests, and workers in the field. The Orthodox youth bishop’s office organizes sports, cultural and artistic events, and computer and accounting centres. The report says its focus includes national participation and patriotism, not only dialogue.

Recent competitions at the Northern Shebra Committee’s Preacher Festival included chess and football for young people and girls. Children in kindergarten were also taught the Coptic language, tunes, and tranny, according to the source.

The Catholic Church runs courses to prepare future leaders and to help young people take part in society by teaching them a trade or offering scholarships. Father Kerlis Nazim of the Diaconia Development Bureau of the Catholic Church said in statements for the report that the Church operates a youth addiction service. Under this service, a young person who wants to recover works with various clinics for six full months at the Catholic Church’s expense, with the aim of recovery and becoming an active member of society. He said the programme is accredited to the Ministry of Health. He also said the Church can tailor preparation to each young person’s interests and talents, offer grants for study abroad and other courses, and that three young Catholics in the President’s presidential programme take part in various initiatives and pass on what they learn to young people in society (Matthew 25:35).

The Evangelical Community’s youth work includes the Youth Service Network in Egypt, which the Church opened at the Tec-Egypt service headquarters. The headquarters is headed by Pastor Tony Georges, founder of the Tec-Egypt and Middle East Service of the Association of Evangelicals. The opening was attended by the network’s coordinator, Dr. Nader Sameh of the Church of the Palace of the Dobarra, and committee members Hadi Nabil, Rami Sadiq and Hani Imad, with 100 young servants from Bible churches in various governorates of Egypt.

Dr. Andrea Zaki said he was proud of the young people serving in the Evangelical Church and described the network’s collective work as a great and pleasant achievement. The head of the community said the network brings together a number of evangelical youth services affiliated with the Association of Evangelicals, under the umbrella of the Presidency of the Evangelical Community of Egypt. The network’s first meeting was held last September under the title CONNECT, in the presence of the Chairman of the Evangelical Community of Egypt.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Arabic)