by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - An Egyptian-born church leader from Georgia, USA preached the gospel to over 17,500 people at an evangelistic event in Egypt earlier this month, with nearly 8,000 people responding to a call to put their faith in Christ, Christian Index reports.
The November 3 event was led by Michael Youssef, founder of Leading the Way Ministries and pastor of the 3,000-member The Church of The Apostles in Atlanta, Christian Index said.
In a press release about the outreach, Youssef reference the risks of preaching publicly in a country whose government is largely hostile to Christians. “We were hearing from a lot of people who told us that we should cancel this event, that it was too dangerous to host a Christian event in the Middle East right now,” Youssef said.
“But our God is bigger than that, Youssef asserted. “It was clear that He was calling us to Egypt and that the timing was perfect for us to bring a message of hope to people who desperately needed to hear it.”
Youssef has traveled the world hosting evangelistic events such as this one; he is planning events in Veracruz, Mexico, and the northeastern US next year, Christian Index said.
Ruled by a dictatorial Islamic regime, Egypt currently ranks 35th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.