Marked by Egypt

Two years ago I was part of the volunteer team that hosted the first GLS in Egypt. When I found out that we were going to do it again in 2010, I could hardly wait to head back to Cairo to see God impact the lives and ministries of leaders in the Middle East once again. It was amazing to join with 1200 passionate men and women [conference break pictured above] who desire to follow Christ fully, to shine His light of truth and love in a dark world. Each aspect of the experience – from the live worship and creative elements to the practical teaching, reflection and discussion – all contributed to an environment where God’s Spirit could draw His people to Himself and each other for the sake of His Kingdom. Knowing that the host church regularly offers conferences could have easily deterred people from engaging deeply, yet the exact opposite happened.



We knew God was up to something big when nearly all the conference guests were registered and in their seats thirty minutes before the start of the first session. With the countdown timer ticking away, Pastor Sameh Hanna gave the go ahead for the worship team to start early. I could see his eyes light up as the sound of voices began to fill the room in anticipation of the beginning of this two-day adventure. The session speakers and topics really hit home in this setting, especially Christine Caine’s inspirational message of hope and Jeff Manion’s life lessons on navigating the challenges of personal and professional “wilderness” seasons. I’ll never forget Senior Pastor Sameh Maurice [pictured above] concluding the conference by telling about his own seasons of uncertainty, then rallying everyone to pray aloud boldly and to join hands across the aisles as a unifying step of faith toward the future.

As it turns out, the regular envisioning and development of leaders has resulted in a strengthening of the ministry core and an insatiable appetite to be equipped as difference-makers in this world for Christ. The GLS simply, yet powerfully, came alongside the work that God’s Spirit is already doing to enhance the light that is emanating from downtown Cairo.



Personally, I was marked by the seemingly seamless ability of the U.S. and Egyptian serving teams to work together so quickly and efficiently. A great example of this happened between technical team volunteers Hany Awny Hanna from Cairo and Jeremy Hoff from California [pictured above] who had planted ministry partnership seeds two years earlier and this year the fruit began to grow. Beyond accomplishing a God-sized task together, friendships were formed throughout the week that represented how we really are all spiritual siblings even though we live on different sides of the globe. Our gifts and skills shone through as we humbly contributed our unique abilities for the good the whole. Therese Gobran [pictured below] was another person God used to communicate His message powerfully during the conference, as she translated English to Arabic for the pre-conference women’s workshops, as well as the motivational interview between Pastor Maurice and Lynne Hybels on day three. It was apparent through cheers and shedding of tears that the conference participants were able to prayerfully connect with God’s Spirit throughout the sessions. I was moved to discover that it is the desire of the host church to continue offering this catalytic experience again and again to infuse God’s people with vision, leadership and strategic training so the church will continue to grow vibrantly in a society that seeks to isolate its efforts.



Without a doubt, changing a leader can change a church, and changing a church can change a city and ultimately the world! I have been friends with our GLS team leader, Fady Eldeiry [pictured above above], for several years and I have seen how Christ has called him out to bring the GLS to his home country. I have also witnessed first hand how God has used him to bring fantastic people around him, all with different desires and dreams, to join with God and the GLS to reach the Arabic speaking world starting with a relatively small band of Christ-followers in Egypt. I cannot wait to see how God’s Spirit will guide the lives were transformed by participating in this year’s GLS. And again, I cannot wait to return next year to be part of this transformational experience in 2011.

By: Dan Lovaglia (@dmlovaglia)
Content & Resource Developer at Willow Creek Community Church