Leadership & Changing Lives in Bangladesh | Interview w/David Witt (Episode #8)

this is atrisk Radio welcome to atrisk radio at risk radio is a show where we talk about leaders in the persecuted Church all over the world my name is Mark Stafford and I'm here with David wit David wit is the CEO of s so International David we have coming up in November the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted Church what is that and uh how could people introduce the idea of praying for the persecuted Church in their own local congregations yes so the history is in the 90s as the church began to notice more and more the escalation of persecution Christian leaders came together around the world and decided we need to focus on this for the body of Christ and they decided to pick the month of November starting at the first Sunday for uh churches globally to put a focus on prayer and understanding knowledge for Christians to stand in solidarity for the Believers in restricted and persecuted areas and so that's where that came out in 1990s hundreds of thousands of churches every year participate and so November 1st will be the launch of the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted Church which a lot of people refer to is idop and so we're inviting Believers uh to ask the Lord how can I support my family around the world and be involved with idop of what God is doing is God's people are seeking him in prayer and then moving out in faithful obedience uh so that's idop this year and um yeah so hopefully we're gonna have a lot of people involved yeah that's great well you know one thing I see that uh s so is moving forward and supporting is the church planning work that is happening in Bangladesh now Bangladesh you don't hear of a lot of mission AR is going there it's a very very difficult place for the gospel uh tell me a little bit about Bangladesh how difficult is it to get a church started in a place like that yeah well Bangladesh is over 90% you know Muslim majority so it's very devoted to Islam it has the one of the greatest gatherings I mean they say second biggest gathering in the world of Muslims are 4 to six million so it's a very committed Islamic Nation um within Bangladesh though are um Hindu minorities Buddhist minorities animists and then a few Christians there Point 3% of of Christians in Bangladesh so a small minority and so obviously Bangladesh is considered unreached Nation where you know you know Muslims just don't have the access to the gospel uh to Bibles to any of those things so the the very small Christian influence there uh is as good as it gets and so we stand assist our the the the Bangladesh is there and um we have so Bangladesh there and our our brother um Joseph you know shared in in the most recent newsletter we did here is he said this I just want to quote him he said when I first moved I saw a vision the Lord showed me that I am not just a pastor of 200 families the Lord showed me that I must be a pastor of thousands of thousands of people now he goes on to share is how God during covid-19 during this year has fulfilled more of that where there's an outpouring of the spirit Mark in how all these bangladeshis are coming to Christ and are hungry for his word and they've even started you know church planting schools and uh and so how the the and covid-19 has been a tool that God has used to ultimately fulfill his view his his heart and his vision so it's amazing how ironic that is counterintuitive how God has brought such hope through such a difficult year for most people in 2020 well tell me a little bit more about these church planting schools I know that we had some that we've talked about in previous episodes over in India but this is new in Bangladesh uh what's this church planning school like and uh what kind of men are being drawn to this kind of uh really incredible Frontline sort of ministry so again you can understand that these the what what the people that we get to serve are the most vulnerable and um disenfranchised U you know we're working with um what one of the the in fact the most responsive right now are the the Hindu minorities and the Buddhist minorities they are very discriminated and this is what's amazing when most people have a hard time believing and understanding is some of the villages we're working in there are they're mostly illiterate so we are actually coming in and trained in an oral manner there illiterate belie Bel to be Church planners and that now that is contradictory to most people's again intuition to be able to happen but you know see the word faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God and God brings his wisdom through the Holy Spirit and these Believers are hearing the word and then we're giving them audio Bibles to be able to continue to feed on the word and they're growing with one another and in relationship with one another for accountability for growth for doing life together and so they're finding themselves approved by the Lord and through the fruit of the Holy Spirit and then they're going out and telling others about uh Jesus and so what's again what's unique is these are very impoverished Believers very uneducated they're they're not empowered leaders they're not the typical people that you would pick for to make a movement to bring change of nation but doesn't that sound kind of familiar um you know Mark in history uh of who maybe some of the people that Jesus picked the uh the disciples come to mind mind that uh many of them were uh less than Highly Educated men and yet they were bold for Christ and they were they were trainable and they're willing to make bold steps for Jesus and that's what we see here happening right now in Bangladesh these men who are uh sticking out their necks and making bold moves for Jesus so hey when we get back let's talk a little bit more about uh what's happening in Bangladesh and how our listeners can get involved in the ministry of uh s so International can you imagine trying to disciple a church with only one Bible this is Mark Stafford from atrisk radio and our contacts in Venezuela are telling us incredible stories about people coming to know Jesus all the while pastors are missing Bibles for their people after receiving a Bible from our ministry one man said with tears in his eyes no one has ever given me such a beautiful gift at risk radio in our partnership with s so International is working to bring 2 million Bibles into Venezuela for more information about how you can help go to atrisk radio.com welcome back to atrisk radio I'm online with David wit David wit is the CEO of s so International now uh David I am reading this incredible story uh from one of our church Planters in Bangladesh U it says here and I quote devout Hindus spied on the new Christians one day while a small group gathered in bashes home to worship an angry mob came and warned him to stop the prayer meeting they said to leave the village otherwise they would soon cut him to pieces like chicken you know that it's an incredible story that he tells here because where I live the worst they're going to do is you know make fun of me but one thing that I think all of us who have a heart for the persecuted Church um one thing is really impressive to us that is um inspiring to us is these are men who are willing to go out and to preach the gospel boldly even when their lives are being threatened uh and actually threatened quite violently in this case um tell me a little bit about the kind of leaders that we are supporting through S so International and the kind of risks that they're taking out there for the gospel yeah well there the kind of men that God is converting is truly those who have been broken uh they're desperate they they found no peace uh in their religion and uh so even our our brother Joseph from uh Bangladesh talks about here's a quote from him that he that just in our relationship and he says this is direct quote Christians are confessing their sin and carnal Christians are repenting and returning to Jesus so there's just a Revival in those who had at one time or another identified with Christ but we are also seeing Muslims Hindus Buddhists fearful about death and seeking to know more about Jesus and historically very few wanted to hear about Jesus because of religious fundamentalism and so God is just shaking the world he shaking Bangladesh right now and and yet there's obviously at times you know as they stand strong now there's those who have gotten even more fundamental for their faith and and threatening with cutting them up like a chicken uh and and part of that behind that story too is the the church planter called and he said you know I I don't know I'm afraid um if we should stay or not and and the the regional director and leader in KY said well did who called you to that Village and he said well God did and he said then God's GNA protect you and if they take your life We will bury you well and that strengthened his his his inner man to remembering his calling that first love and he continued on there and he was able to start a um a house Church in that Village and really bring it l transformation and and Mark another context to that story is many times one of the threats in the Muslim world in the Hindu world is that when people die um you know they're not gonna um have a they're not gonna be buried you know it burial is a big deal when somebody dies the whole Community pitches in to bury the you know to literally dig the hole and to honor their family and you know everything and get a coffin and everything well you can imagine if you're Hindu background or Muslim background who's going to dig the hole who's going to show up who's going to prepare the body who's going to build the box and and and where is your body just going to be thrown out to the animals that's really scary the the enemy plays on that uh and the dishonor involved and so one of the things that the Believers have to come together is working together and assuring one another that you know what if you die for the gospel we're GNA take care of you we got your back we got your family and that was what was communicated between those two we got your we got your back we're going to bury you well in other words we're going to take care of your family we're going to take care of your bury your leral body and so that's so important and that's the that's part of what God Tes takes uh talks about when we to love one another and to we give preference especially those who suffer uh in the household of faith and the Lord commanded that in scripture and that's what these Believers in Bangladesh certainly are exemplifying as they're loving each other and standing together in solidarity I've heard you quote a verse many times as this verse here when a man's ways please the Lord he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him how does that verse apply in this situation yeah well what what we see happening through the whole Indian subcontinent uh is that as as God's changing the hearts of you know past religious Believers of all kinds of fundamental you know Persuasions is God makes their heart clean so all all of a sudden now they're they're loving their family um you know men who were alcoholics and were beating their wives all of a sudden have loving their heart for their wives their children and then the neighbors begin to to notice that they begin to cleaning their house more they begin to conduct their business in a in a better way and um and so you know many of these people who have historically been enemies of Christ in the gospel uh God is is winning their hearts because the persuasion of their goodness and remember it's the goodness of God that leads people to repentance and that's what the gospel does when it gives these people have never heard the name of Jesus before a new nature it's the nature of Christ PE you know people see the the change just like God talked about in the scriptures the holy spirit is equated to the wind we don't know where the wind comes from but we don't know where it goes but what do we what do we know when the Holy Spirit or what do we know about the wind it blows the wind it blows the leaves we see leaves moving so we know there's a wind we feel it on our body it's the same with the Holy Spirit we can't see the Holy Spirit but we could see what the Holy Spirit does we could see what the holy spirit moves in people's lives and that's exactly what's converting our enemies and making them at peace um with with Believers as they're humbling themselves before God so the stories we're hearing come back out of Bangladesh is that first of all there are some ladies who are involved with u Ministry in Bangladesh where they're taking sewing sewing machines and they're making uh clothing and masks and uh and various items for uh the other villagers and they're using that as a bridge for the gospel there's even a story that we probably don't have time to get into today about how one of the uh sagales government officials came and was thanking these ladies for what they were doing and the ministry that they had and he was not a Believer he was a Muslim and so what we're seeing is that this is an opportunity to make bridges for the gospel but one of the big needs that we see that the church planners have is for something as simple as a bicycle if they can get a bicycle they can get to multiple Villages they can not just plant two or three churches but sometimes seven or eight churches because they just have the transportation to get there that's true in Bangladesh that's true in India we're seeing as uh the church planting Ministry is growing in Sagal that we're also needing bicycles there so tell me a little bit about how people can get involved with the ministry of s so International and providing things like bicycles for church planters yeah mark That's the Way That We're assisting the leaders in these restricted and unreached areas with tools and so if people would like to know more about Bangladesh specifically as we've highlighted uh the the newsletter and information I'm just going to encourage everybody to go to atrisk Radio and uh contact us and let us know that they're interested in the information update about Bangladesh it has all these tools listed and they can really begin to pray about that how maybe the Lord would have them involved in standing with our Global family and specifically as we' be able to applaud what God's doing in Bangladesh and I'm looking forward to our time talking about Africa I think that's coming on a podcast we talked about Mark Mark and we talk more about you mentioned cynical because I'm excited about talking about what the Lord's doing there too great well hey to be kept up to date about what God's doing within the church at risk all over the world make sure you go to atrisk radio.com sign up for the newsletter I'm Mark Stafford and this is Ben at risk radio you've been listening to atrisk radi for more go to atrisk radio.com atrisk radio is a production of 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