Ramez & Rebecca Atallah
Ramez and Rebecca have been supported by Bethel Community Church since 1980. Here are their stories.
Ramez
Born immediately after the end of World War II into a wealthy Christian Egyptian family, Ramez was brought up in Egypt during the time of the Nasser Revolution. Shortly after the new Socialist Government nationalized his family’s properties, they escaped to Canada in the early 60s to begin again. It was during these early years in Montreal that Ramez came to know the Lord personally through Rosemount Bible Chapel and was discipled through the ministry of McGill Christian Fellowship and IVCF Canada.
After graduating with a Masters Degree in Social Work, Ramez and his wife, Rebecca (born in Haiti to missionary parents) moved to Boston where Ramez completed a Masters of Divinity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Ramez then came back to Montreal in 1972 as Divisional Director of IVCF Quebec. He also helped develop the fledgling Groupes Bibliques Universitaires at a time when there was a tremendous Evangelical revival in French Quebec. By the time he left, GBU was well enough established to need its own separate director. In 1980 Ramez and Rebecca with their two children Joel and Leila returned to his native Egypt where he became the Regional Secretary for the Middle East of the International Fellowship of Evangelical students (IFES).
Ramez spent the next ten years introducing small group inductive Bible Study to Christian young people in all segments of the Christian church in the country. In 1990, he was appointed to his present position as General Director of the Bible Society of Egypt. With 220 staff and 17 bookshops spread across the Nation it is the official supplier of Scriptures to all denominations in Egypt, and the largest publisher of Arabic Bibles worldwide.
Other Activities:
Ramez’ most significant international involvement has been with the Lausanne Movement. In 1974 Ramez attended the International Congress for World Evangelization in Lausanne Switzerland and following that was appointed as the Youth Representative on the Lausanne Committee. He served on the Committee from 1974 to 1994. In 2006 he became the Program Chairman for the Lausanne Cape Town 2010 Congress.
Rebecca
Rebecca Atallah (nee Wilkinson) was born to Missionary parents in Haiti. She spent the first fourteen years of her life there and later enrolled at McGill University and was active in the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship group, where she met Ramez Atallah. They eventually got married and later ministered among French and English Canadian students in Montreal. During that time they had two children (Joel 1973 and Leila 1976). She and Ramez now have five grandchildren.
Mokattam Mountain Garbage Village
When Rebecca moved with Ramez and their two children to Egypt she soon became involved as a key worker at the St Simon Coptic Orthodox Church in the Mokattam Garbage Village (the Church which is now best known for its large “Cave Churches”).
Since 1982, Rebecca has been actively involved in helping with the Christian education program at the Garbage Village as well as planning camps and outings for the children and their leaders. In recent years this ministry has included handicapped children and disabled people. In 2010 she had a key role in establishing the Center of Love for children with special needs at the Garbage Village, which is one of the largest and best equipped centers for the disabled poor in Cairo. This is now the focus of her present ministry at the Garbage Village.
Ministry among Sudanese Refugees
Rebecca is also involved through the Heliopolis Community Church, Egypt, in extensive ministry among Sudanese refugees in Egypt. She heads up the weekly Sudanese Assistance Program at the Church, and is the chairperson of the Board of the Sudanese Displaced Children’s Learning Center (SDCLC), which provides a full educational program for over 250 Sudanese children of all ages who would otherwise not be able to attend school.
Rebecca is passionate about her work with refugees and very involved at present in helping to repair and renovate the building that the SDCLC meets in, in order to make it into a real school, safe and secure for these kids who feel that life has always been hard on them and their families, both in Sudan and in Egypt. Her biggest need right now is for some more people to partner with her in raising the rest of the needed funds for this very crucial ministry. See donation instructions below.
To make a donation to Ramez and Rebecca’s ministries, click on the link below to the msccanada website. After you click on donate you can type in the box ‘order notes’ to specify which of the four ministries mentioned above you would like to support.