Hope Builders Ministries - Bangladesh

Disciple Making is more than just teaching someone the gospel and the essentials of Christianity. It's more than just giving them an outline and a list of things they need to do to live the Christian life. Disciple Making is a relationship-driven process. How important is disciple-making? Hope Builders Ministries Bangladesh addresses crucial issues facing a majority Muslim population. The Disciple Making Movements are equipping Indigenous Christians to become disciple making leaders. Amazing work is taking place with just a few Jesus followers and the ministry is rapidly expanding. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is being advanced through the Great Commission. Because of the hard work and sacrifice of a few faithful Disciples, personal evangelism is creating open doors for Bangladesh to be exposed to the truth that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

  • 166,303,494 (2021)
  • Population under 15 yrs: 27.2%
  • Urban %: 36.9%
  • 46 Languages
  • 326 People Groups
  • Official Language: Bengla
  • Literacy Rate: 58%
  • Human Development Index: 133 / 189
  • The Size of Georgia, USA

The Christian population of Bangladesh is 0.7% with half of these being evangelicals. Persecution is ranked at 31/50 and rising. Most Christians are from a Hindu background but many muslims are also being saved. It is estimated that churches are growing faster than the population. A lack of mature, trained, biblical leadership has created a very weak church. Poverty limits the number of full-time pastors and missionaries.

  • Life Expectancy: 73.57
  • Infant Mortality: 31.70
  • Death Under Age 5: 30/1,000

Muslim 89.1%, Hindu 10%, other 0.9% (includes Buddhist, Christian) (2013 est.). "The Bengali, or Shaikh, people (240 million globally) remain the largest unreached people group in the world. Bengali Muslims make up 89% of the population and follow “folk” Islam (a blend of Sufi Islam, indigenous cultures, and Hinduism). Most have never heard the true gospel. Bengali Hindus (201 Hindu groups, of which 188 are unreached), also face violence and persecution as a religious minority along with the few Christians.

The huge delta region formed at the confluence of the Ganges and Brahmaputra River systems - now referred to as Bangladesh - was a loosely incorporated outpost of various empires centered on the Gangetic plain for much of the first millennium A.D. Muslim conversions and settlement in the region began in the 10th century, primarily from Arab and Persian traders and preachers. Europeans established trading posts in the area in the 16th century. Eventually the area known as Bengal, primarily Hindu in the western section and mostly Muslim in the eastern half, became part of British India.

Bangladesh's economy has grown roughly 6% per year since 2005 despite prolonged periods of political instability, poor infrastructure, endemic corruption, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the services sector, almost half of Bangladeshi is employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. 

Equipping

Equip the whole church to do the work of the ministry, building up the body of Christ.  Ephesians 4:12

Empowering

Paul said, "And what you have heard from me...commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." 2 Timothy 2:2

Encouraging

"Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Learn more about Hope Builders Ministries' focus on the Three Es on the home page.

Advance the Gospel in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a young country in that the people are young. 27% of the population is under 15 years old.

The Hope Builders Ministries missionary is still in training. This training takes place over the internet via zoom and emails. Translating is difficult. The English translating is through Google Translate.

In spite of the difficulties the Gospel is being advanced in Bangladesh as Brother Gazi disciples young people in the basics of the Gospel using HBM resources. He actively works with young people, the heart of Bangladesh. The literacy rate is 50% . Gazi's disciples are mainly literate so they can be better trained to orally teach the truth to new and older believers.

Bangladesh is also very poor. The economic stress is compounded by feuding political families and continually flooding rivers. Much of Bangladesh is at zero feet with the converging Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers dividing the country.

The HBM Missionary needs monthly support to maintain his family and supply the needed resources to grow the ministry and make disciples who multiply.

Be a Hope Builder in Bangladesh