EGYPT: CHURCH EXPERIENCES GROWTH

The Bible Baptist Denomination (BBD) in Egypt has experienced significant numerical growth in recent times.
Formed in 2003 with two churches and 80 members, BBD now has 26 churches with 7,000 members. Based in the
ancient city of Alexandria, the second largest city in Egypt, the young Baptist organization received a “presidential license”
from the government, granting it legal status in the Muslim-majority North African country.
BBD leader and founder, Botros Faltaos, told Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam that he saw a
need for Baptists to develop an identity in Egypt. Non-Coptic and non-Catholic churches in Egypt normally fall under one
umbrella group, which includes Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and others of the Protestant and Evangelical faith
traditions. This umbrella group, among other things, has control of property owned by the various church traditions.
“We hope to expand and grow,” said Faltaos, who made a visit to the BWA Center in Falls Church, Virginia, in the
United States on September 9. “We want to evangelize every village in Egypt,” said the former businessman, who sold his
nine jewelry stores and construction business, putting the proceeds into the fledgling Baptist movement.
“Part of our ministry is to help the poor and needy,” he explained. “To be accepted in Egypt, one has to be engaged in
social ministries.” A 10-acre plot of land in northern Egypt, close to the resort areas, was donated to BBD, and will be used
for an income generation project.
One aim of BBD, declared Faltaos, is to maintain peace with Muslims. “We present the Gospel, we do not attack
Muslims. Our aim is to keep peace with all groups, including Muslims.” BBD’s seminary in Alexandria teaches a course on
how to reach out to Muslims.
Faltaos shared his own testimony of conversion and call. Born into a Baptist family, he made his own commitment
of faith on March 5, 1978, while still in high school, during a prayer meeting held in his home. On that day, he said, he
understood the difference between religious persons who follow rituals, and someone who has an assurance of salvation.
He started reading the Bible, and after six years, was convinced that Baptist beliefs accord with the scriptures.
He began preaching in 1984, even while starting and operating his businesses, helping to found a Baptist group that
grew to 22 churches, but which became affiliated with the umbrella church group. Becoming increasingly convinced that
the Baptist church needed to form its own identity, he left that group in 2003 and started BBD.
Callam, who extended welcome to Faltaos and his interpreter, Sam Sadek, an Egyptian pastor in Manassas, Virginia,
expressed the hope that all Baptists in Egypt will be part of the worldwide Baptist family.
BBD has begun to explore the possibility of applying for membership within the BWA.
PHOTO: Neville Callam shakes the hand of Sam Sadek, right, an Egyptian Baptist pastor in Manassas, Virginia, in
the United States, while Botros Faltaos, founder and president of the Bible Baptist Denomination (BBD) in Egypt, looks on

ITALY: AGREEMENT ON MARRIAGE CONTINUED

Pastoral care for mixed marriages is also of significance in the signed agreement, including the responsibility of the
respective churches, and the need for a shared and ongoing pastoral care program by both pastor and priest.
The document offers guidelines to be followed by mixed couples on aspects of Italian civil law, the marriage
preparation process, the marriage service or ceremony, and the upbringing of children.
The agreement, which was signed on June 30 in Rome, is the culmination of a process that began in October 2007
with the signing of a “Joint text for the pastoral care in interchurch marriages between Roman Catholics and Baptists in
Italy,” by respective commissions of the UCEBI and the CEI. Both commissions met jointly to study interchurch marriages
and to draft the agreement.
The agreement was voted into acceptance by the general assemblies of both the UCEBI and the CEI, which paved
the way for its signing.
PHOTO: Anna Maffei, president of the Christian Evangelical Baptist Union of Italy, right, smiles in conversation with her
husband, Massimo Aprile, a Baptist pastor in Italy

Our Grateful Thanks to the Following Friends for their Gifts to the Baptist World Alliance
Gifts to the Baptist World Alliance were given by:
Leila Arnett in memory of Roy Honeycutt
James and Carol Morris in memory of Imogene Stevens
Anne T. Spector in memory of Virginia Tompkins Tull
A gift to the Baptist World Alliance in memory of Carl Murchie for the Russia-Demidov Orphanage Mission was
given by: Donna H. Blackburn
A gift to the Baptist World Alliance in honor of Don Sewell was given by: Richard Worley
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