Where Christians dare
to tread
Pastor Simon*, a BMS World Mission-supported evangelist in Bangladesh, faced the prospect of being beaten to death. He tells us why, in the face of danger, he goes boldly where few dare to tread.
Loud knocks woke Pastor Simon violently from his sleep. His host family were afraid. “Hide, Pastor Simon,” they said. “We’ll protect you.” But he refused. “I had nothing to hide,” he says. “I insisted I wanted to speak to our visitors.”
At the door stood three men from a religious extremist group. Simon had been warned about them. They held long bamboo sticks by their sides, weapons as tall as them, if not taller. One accused him of coming to their village to convert people to Christianity.
Simon had not come to talk about religion and conversion, but to deliver the message of Jesus’ hope. When he became a Christian, 23 years ago, God called him to go to the Muslim communities in Bangladesh. He was obedient to God’s call and decided to devote his life to evangelism. “I ask the Holy Spirit to lead me to places where no-one knows of God,” he says. “And those places get transformed by him.”
In Bangladesh, around one per cent of people identify as Christian. And although this number is growing, the spread of the gospel is met with growing persecution. This hasn’t stopped Simon. Supported by BMS, he is just one of several remarkable evangelists who work with a BMS partner in Bangladesh, reaching the least evangelised regions of the country. Working with the partner, BMS mission workers provide training, mentoring and support, especially for evangelists who face persecution. Simon considers them family. “My spiritual brother and sister from BMS are a blessing to me,” he says. “I go where they can’t go. With their prayers and support, and with BMS, I’m able to be a full-time evangelist.” But in the face of persecution, what does being a full-time evangelist look like?
Simon’s ministry has been years in the making. In Bangladesh, Muslims, Hindus and Christians are not only separated by their beliefs. They’re also separated by the different words they use to express the same things (for example, there are three different words for saying hello, depending on your religion). Simon spent years learning the words that Muslim communities use and studying the Qur’an to gain an understanding and show people his respect for their way of life.
Being a full-time evangelist in Bangladesh looks like opening the door to three angry strangers in a remote village. Standing before his unexpected visitors, Simon prayed silently. The strangers were hostile. They were not there to listen. “People say that I am brave to go into these places alone,” he explains. “But I never go alone. God is with me and he goes before me.” He was confident that once they had heard his message, no-one would die that night. He began to speak with the men.
He talked through the stories common to the Qur’an and the Bible. He went systematically through the prophets. And on this shared foundation, he explained who Christians believe Jesus really is. He told them: “Jesus is our salvation.”
That was when they hit him. But then they stopped and listened. And after hearing Simon’s message, they went home. That night, no-one died. No baptisms were performed either. But that year, Simon’s visits to several villages led to an incredible 33 baptisms.
Simon has dedicated his life to showing people in Bangladesh God’s love for them — people who would have no other way of knowing. And thanks to your support, he’s able to do that full-time. He calls it his “transformation mission”: going into villages where no-one has experienced the gospel before. And by the time he leaves, God has transformed those places.
*Name changed.
BMS World Mission works in some of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. Regions where just the mention of Jesus’ name could lead to a beating or even death. Please pray for BMS workers and partners to make the name of Jesus known in seemingly impossible circumstances. Pray that people in those countries would know God’s love.
Words by Melanie Webb.
