Egypt tops list as 3.7 million Scriptures given to children last year

Bible Society teams worldwide provided almost 3.7 million Scripture items for children last year thanks to the generous support of people like you.

Your kind giving meant over 1.1 million children’s Scriptures were distributed in Egypt alone. This is the largest number for one nation, in a place where ministry with young people is a top priority.

Through festivals, competitions and quizzes, the Bible Society of Egypt engages with hundreds of thousands of children each year.

Ten-year-old Mario took part in a Bible Society quiz in Egypt, and left the event with a passion for God’s word as well as a new remote controlled car.

‘Around 150 kids in our Sunday school participated in the quiz on Matthew,’ said Mario. ‘We studied so hard, every day for a month, but only 15 came to the final competition. This is my first time attending such a big party. And it was the first time for me to stand in front of more than 1,000 people to answer the quiz!’

Winning the car was nice, but Mario revealed something even more important. After the competition, I started to read the Bible every day. Now I pretend I have another competition to study for, and my Mum and I spend time together reading the new Bible I received,’ he said. 

Children under 15 make up just over a quarter of the world’s population (1.9 billion children) and thanks to your generosity, more and more children in Egypt and elsewhere are increasingly engaging with God's word. Dr Ehab Tanas, Director of Sales and Church Relations in Egypt said one third of the Egyptian population is 14 years old or younger, so there are about 5 million Christian children who need to be served. Children are the future of the Church.

His colleague, Lois, added, ‘We are absolutely confident that when the word of God is sown in the hearts of children, their lives will be different and they will shine.’

Brazil came second after Egypt with about 500,000 Scriptures distributed to children, according to the results of a Bible Society survey released 30 July. And 1.3 million Scriptures were provided in Africa, where children under 15 account for around 40 per cent of the population.

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