Michael Youssef (born September 25, 1948) is an Egyptian-American pastor. He is the senior

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia, and the

executive president An executive president is the head of state who exercises authority over the governance of that state, and can be found in presidential, semi-presidential, and parliamentary systems. They contrast with figurehead presidents, common in most parli ...

of Leading the Way.

Life and career

Youssef was born in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

, where he became a Christian, and lived in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and Australia before moving to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. While in Australia, Youssef studied at

Moore Theological College Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The president of the Moore Theological College Council is ''ex officio'' t ...

in Sydney, was ordained as a minister, and met his wife, Elizabeth. The Youssefs immigrated to the United States in 1977, and in 1984 Youssef became a U.S. citizen. He earned additional degrees from

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller consistently has a student body that compr ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of h ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. Youssef worked for nearly 10 years with the Haggai Institute, traveling around the world and teaching courses in evangelism and church leadership to church leaders. He founded the Church of the Apostles in 1987. He has authored more than 35 books, including ''The Barbarians Are Here'', ''End Times and the Secret of the Mahdi'', and ''Jesus, Jihad and Peace''. Youssef founded Leading The Way in 1988, a ministry in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, with a focus on reaching Muslims in the Middle East. He is also the founding pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta. Youssef and his wife live in Atlanta and have four grown children and eight grandchildren.

References

External links

Church of the Apostles official website

Leading the Way official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Youssef, Michael Living people 1948 births Emory University alumni Christian writers Moore Theological College alumni Fuller Theological Seminary alumni Egyptian emigrants to Australia Egyptian emigrants to the United States Christians from Georgia (U.S. state) People with acquired American citizenship