Second oldest Adventist Church in Egypt dedicated new church for mission :: Adventist News Network

May 23, 2017
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Tatalea, Egypt
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Chanmin Chung, Communication Coordinator, Middle East and North Africa Union

Members of the Adventist church in Tatalea—a four-hour drive south of Cairo, the capital city of Egypt— had prayed about their tumbledown old church building for a long time. 

Tatalea church first opened its doors for worshipers in 1966, providing a place of worship for both members and visitors for more than 50 years, and the church has been the birthplace for many Adventist pastors and workers in Egypt and other parts of the world. 

Kheir Boutros, who was born in Tatalea, is one such example. 

“It was these early church childhood experiences that have shaped my life in the past and continue to do so today,” said Boutros, associate treasurer of the Middle East and North Africa.

Notwithstanding the church’s positive history, one of the hindrances for this  church to reach out to the community was the aging church building. 

“The old building was ruined. The paint was falling from walls. It was in dreadful conditions,” said Johnny Nasrallah, secretary of the Egypt-Sudan Field (ESF). “The members needed a new building to attract the villagers to the church.” 

However, there were significant challenges to this goal. 

The church didn’t have enough funds to even start the work, and the building became too old for renovation.

Despite these hurdles, members of the Tatalea church and the ESF leaders never stopped praying for a decent building for worship and for community activities in Tatalea. 

In 2012 the church was able to start renovation because of a donation, and the old building was almost demolished for a new facility. However, the fund was not enough to keep driving the project, so the members had to stop the renovation. 

The situation brought discouragement, but, at the same time, it encouraged the church members to unite in prayer for the unfished work. 

In 2015 the Quiet Hour Ministry visited Tatalea. At the end of their trip led by Jim Neergaard, they gave a generous donation to help in restarting the renovation work. 

After that, amazingly, more donations began to flow from private donors, and finally, the church received enough funds to finish the renovation. 

In 2016 Wassef Aziz, a church member and engineer living in Cairo, happened to hear of the renovation in Tatalea and decided to volunteer for the work and to dedicate his time for getting the project done. Aziz made numerous trips and phone calls to help with the project until the church was ready for dedication. 

On the Sabbath of April 29, 2017, over a thousand people attended the dedication of the Tatalea church, including community leaders and government officials. 

Kleyton Feitosa, president of the Egypt-Sudan Field, praises God for the great number of donors who contributed to this long-time project, and he is ever mindful of the true purpose of the new building. 

“May this building be a place where people will find the blessed hope in Jesus,” said Feitosa.