Reopening Closed Doors
When a small group of Filipino missionaries traveled to Bangladesh last year, they discovered 22 out of 24 local Seventh-day Adventist churches had been closed for over 15 years.
At one of these churches, they also discovered a three-room school building that was also closed.
The project to open these churches and the school was started in the 1990s. Many people showed interest in learning about Jesus and the churches and school were full. Eventually, however, the funding for the project ended, and incoming tithes were too low to pay the pastors’ and teachers’ salaries.
Through the Filipino missionaries, we were able to find and hire a Bible Worker to reopen the church beside the school, and we are working on opening more (Learn more about this project on the Bangladesh Churches episode of Jesus for Asia Now). But we don’t want to stop there.We have been praying about the possibility of reopening the school, and we believe God is leading us to do so.
We are planning to open the school for free to elementary school children in nearby villages. Most of these children come from poor families, who cannot afford to pay to send their children to private school.
Bangladesh is a small country east of India with a population over 160 million. Only 0.3% of people are Christian, which makes Bangladesh one of the world's least reached countries.
Our Bible Worker recently spoke with the local church members, as well as some Hindu parents, about opening the school, and they were happy about this potential opportunity for their children.
We pray that by taking care of these children's practical and spiritual needs, doors will open for the parents to learn about Jesus as well.
We pray that as they see how much He loves them, their hope for life will grow, and their communities will be uplifted
Getting Started
The overall structure of the school building is in good condition, but some repairs need to be made before it can be reopened. Repairs will include repainting, adding furniture, and upgrading the electrical system and fixtures. We would also like to build some new bathroom facilities, and fix up the playground.
Our Bible Worker has qualified teachers to hire, and he has all the details needed to get a government permit to open the school.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, we are able to move forward on this project through faith. God has given us a passion for the needs of Bangladeshi people, and we desire to bring Him glory in this unreached country.
Please join us in spreading the Gospel in Bangladesh by praying for this project and for the Bangladeshi people.
If you feel God leading you to contribute to this project directly, you can do so by clicking the button below.