Egyptian Christians standing strong in the midst of ongoing persecution

Egyptian Christians standing strong in the midst of ongoing persecution By Peter Wooding, European Bureau Chief for ASSIST News Service HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, UK (ANS – June 1, 2017) -- After last Friday’s bus attack on Coptic Christians in Minya, Egypt, which claimed 29 lives, Dr Michael Youssef says the church there is standing stronger than ever before. Following the fourth major ISIS attack against the Coptic Christian community in just six months, Leading The Way’s Founder and President says Christians there continue to grow in their passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ in the face of rising persecution. “There were two million more Christians in churches on Easter and Good Friday than the previous year,” Dr Youssef said during an interview at the World Summit in Defence of Persecuted Christians, “and this is the message they wanted to communicate to the terrorists: ‘Kill us all, and that’s fine by us. We’re not afraid of you.’” Dr Youssef added: “This is the one thing I think so many Christians in the West don’t understand -- that persecution strengthens and makes believers more passionate about their faith than easy Christianity.” Lat month at the first-ever World Summit in Defence of Persecuted Christians, Dr Youssef met with Christian leaders in Washington, D.C., to discuss what the U.S. can be doing to help the persecuted church at this time. The event was held just after Dr Youssef’s latest trip to his home country of Egypt, where he preached a timely word of encouragement to Christians in Cairo and met with key Egyptian leaders to discuss Christian persecution following the Palm Sunday bombings just weeks before. On the ground, Leading The Way’s Help The Persecuted ministry is providing vital support to Christians facing ongoing persecution in places like Egypt, including: * Safe housing for Christians in immediate danger * Emergency aid for refugees fleeing ISIS violence * Spiritual and financial support for victims of abuse * Medical aid, travel help, legal representation, and more “Our team is on the ground ministering in places like Sinai, where hundreds of Christian families have fled ISIS persecution—many of whom have seen family members murdered in front of them. We are providing practical help in the form of safe housing, living expenses, and spiritual support,” Dr Youssef said. “I’m praying that God would awaken the church in the West from their lethargy and self-satisfaction—that we will open our eyes and look at the needs of the world. I am pleading with believers to find out where the need is and get plugged in.” To learn more visit: LTW.org Leading The Way has just released a FREE 30-day prayer guide designed to guide Christians in prayer for the Muslim world during Ramadan. Download it here: https://goo.gl/GERwkZ Photo captions: 1) Attacked bus in which Coptic Christians were travelling in. 2) Dr. Michael Youssef speaking at the World Summit in Defence of Persecuted Christians. 3) Dr. Youssef speaking in Cairo, Egypt. 4) Peter Wooding. About the writer: Peter Wooding, the younger son of Dan and Norma Wooding, is an award-winning radio, TV, and print journalist and media consultant. Having previously spent 10 years as news editor with UCB Radio in the UK, he has travelled extensively reporting from countries including Greece, Russia, Serbia, South Sudan, the Philippines, Uganda, South Korea, Zambia, Gambia, Mozambique, Croatia, Israel and India. Peter, whose most recent trip was to Georgia in the former Soviet Union with Mercy Projects, reports regularly for ASSIST News Service, Mercy Projects, and Leading The Way. Peter, who was recently appointed London Bureau Chief for the Global News Alliance, and his wife Sharon live in North Wales, UK, with their three daughters, Sarah, Anna and Abigail. To contact Peter, please e-mail him at: woodingpeter@hotmail.com  or by telephone at: +44 7500 903067. ** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net). Also, please tell your friends that they can have a complimentary subscription to ANS by going to the above website and signing up there.