Source: Pray for the Nations

The brutal execution of 21 Christians in Libya sparked a feeling of unity and opportunity for Egyptian Christians. Undaunted by the killings, the director of the Bible Society of Egypt saw a golden opportunity for the gospel.

“We must have a Scripture tract ready to distribute to the nation as soon as possible,” Ramez Atallah told his staff the evening an ISIS-linked group released its gruesome video. Less than 36 hours later, a tract named “Two Rows by the Sea” was sent to the printer.

Just one week later, 1.65 million copies have been distributed in the Bible Society’s largest campaign ever. The tract contains biblical quotations about the promise of blessing amid suffering, alongside a poignant poem in colloquial Arabic.

“The design is meant so that it can be given to any Egyptian without causing offence,” said Atallah. “To comfort the mourning and challenge people to commit to Christ.”

Whilst the tracts were distributed around churches in Egypt, one church, Isaaf Evangelical Church, located on one of down-town Cairo’s busiest streets, hung a poster on its wall at eye-level with pedestrians that read: “We learn from what the Messiah has said, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you….’”

Pastor Francis Fahim said the poster was meant to express comfort to all Egyptians, Muslim and Christian.

“Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel” —Ephesians 6:19