Christians from Kasr El-Dobara Evangelical Church (KDEC) in Egypt say it looks like this: a journey from fear, to hope, to overcoming barriers, and then to living in strength. Sounds clear cut, but the process takes years of receiving Christ’s love and practical care. 

Marihan with KDEC says that on this journey with refugees, “One of the ways we find very helpful is not just to feed them, but to equip them.” 

The church equips women in particular through a vocational training center, in partnership with another congregation in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. They have started not only this vocational center but also a school for children. (More on the school here.)

“We are teaching them small skills — sewing skills, macrame skills, how to do like a fashion thing or any handmade work, so they can have income,” says Marihan. “After some time, we can teach them as well how to start their own business, their own shop, their own whatever, so they can have sustainable income.”

(Photo courtesy of KDEC)

Egypt hosts more than 1 million refugees, according to December 2025 data from the United Nations Refugee Agency. Many come from Sudan and Syria. Even before families and individuals realize they aren’t going home anytime soon, they face serious barriers “with the language, with culture, with the identity itself, with everything around them,” says Marihan, “even with the people who sometimes treat them as if [the refugees] are the enemy, [as if] they are taking their food.”

Marihan says it might take three to five years for refugees to begin to thrive. “It depends on the person himself — and the situation in their country, by the way. If the situation in their country is going bad every day, it affects them.”

But showing the love of Christ opens the way to share His message. Please pray for God’s blessing and strength for believers in Egypt engaged in loving and caring for displaced families. 

“Pray for the grace that God is giving us with the government to continue. We got permission from the government to establish the education center and to serve those people,” Marihan explains. 

Header photo courtesy of Wadi Lissa via Unsplash.

But that data only counts those registered with the UN. The real number is undoubtedly much higher — and every one of these children, women, and men needs so much more than just food and shelter. 

“They are coming just to find hope in our country, and they fear the future. So we have to give them hope and comfort,” says Marihan with Kasr El-Dobara Evangelical Church (KDEC) in Egypt. “That’s why we are expanding our ministry to reach out to them and give them hope and a future.”

School in Cairo, Egypt (Stock photo courtesy of Primrose Murahwi via Unsplash)

After two years of hard work,  KDEC is ready to open a new education center for around 80 children in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. 

“It was a long journey of success and failing and frustration,” Marihan says of the process. “It wasn’t easy at all. Sometimes we were learning new things, because it’s our first time to establish an education center for refugees.”

But God opened the way, bringing both government permission as well as a local partnering church that can legally staff the center.

The center will meet a critical need. For Palestinian refugees in Sinai, for example, Marihan says, “they cannot go anywhere else in the country, and they cannot use the local school.”

Showing the love of Christ to families opens the way to share His message. Please join in praying for the ministry of this new center to dozens of refugee families. Ask God to keep the door open for this way to serve. 

“Pray for protection — protection for the people who serve with us. And even pray for the local church there who will be responsible for the education center,” says Marihan. “Pray for the teachers. Pray for the people who will receive the message.”

Header photo courtesy of KDEC.

Kasr El-Dobara Evangelical Church (KDEC), located in Egypt, was founded by Dr. Ibrahim Said in 1949 with a “missions DNA.” Since then, the church has grown into the largest Arab Evangelical congregation, with 12,000 members.

(Photo courtesy of KDEC)

KDEC’s Pastor Sam emphasizes, “It’s not about the number, actually. It’s about the Kingdom. We are Kingdom-minded, not church-minded.

“We believe that the Church exists for the Great Commission, to continue the message that Jesus Christ started, and help people to get to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We pass the message of hope for people.”

Out of Egypt’s 118 million people, Pastor Sam says, “At least 20 million are Christians. The majority are Coptic Orthodox — 93%. Five percent are Evangelicals, and the rest are Catholic. So we are a minority among minorities — but thank God that we can reach the multitude!”

KDEC meets people where they are through creative outreach. Pastor Sam says, for example, “We have the largest sports ministry program in the Middle East. We serve around 750,000 per year across Egypt and also in the Middle East. We are using sports to reach people [with] the knowledge of Christ.”

(Photo courtesy of KDEC)

Another outreach draws thousands to music festivals. “We developed a program called Count It Right in partnership with Palau’s organization. We have a festival, and people come from different backgrounds to watch the shows. In each station, we share…the Gospel.”

Whatever the method, Pastor Sam says it all comes down to one goal — telling as many people as possible about Jesus.

“We are using different ‘languages.’ I don’t mean like Arabic and English. I mean languages like sports, music, apologetics, media, [and] social media to grab people’s attention to the message of Christ.”

When asked how Christians can pray, Pastor Sam responds with sincere reverence: “Pray for grace and wisdom as we’re serving the Lord. [Pray] for the Church in Egypt to be in the center of God’s will, and to be brave, and to continue sharing the Good News without fear.”

Learn more about KDEC at their website.

Header photo courtesy of KDEC.