Here’s Some Water. Will You Baptize
Here’s some water. Will you baptize me?
Tarun paraphrased the words of the Ethopian eunuch found in Acts 8, and requested Pastor Pratapgarh to baptize him. Their conversations about salvation and baptism were significant as Tarun is one of the nearly half-million members of the Chakma tribe, living in a very remote area of eastern Bangladesh. Chakmas traditionally are Buddhists, and therefore do not believe in any personal God, so the FMI-supported church planter wanted to make sure Tarun fully understood the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Buddhists are a very small and sometimes ostracized minority, as are Christians and Hindus.
Discipleship of new believers is a priority for Pratapgarh. He understands the seismic paradigm shift that occurs when a Chakma renounces the worldview of Buddhism to begin renewing his or her mind after the pattern of Christ. Pratapgarh himself is from a different tribe living in the same region and members of his tribe are predominantly Hindu. As an older teenager, Pratapgarh found himself isolated from members of his tribe when he renounced the Hundi belief in millions of gods to follow a monotheistic religion. As an adult, he suffered intense persecution, including beatings, imprisonment, and death threats; water from tribal wells was often witheld from his family. When Pratapgarh leads individuals like Tarun to faith in Christ, he makes sure they have counted the cost to do so.
Access to the region where these two men live is restricted by the national government. Foreigners are not allowed to enter unless very special exemptions are granted by the national government and military officials; even then, foreigner’s movements and coversations with locals are constantly monitored. Even Bangladeshi citizens living outside of the restricted zone are not allowed to enter it.
But man’s restrictions are no barrier for the Holy Spirit. While missionaries from the outside would be forbidden from moving into the area, there are some Christians, such as Pratapgarh, who already live there and are willing to couragously share the gospel of Jesus Christ with their neighbords. Pratapgarh has already planted 5 churches inside the restricted territory. So far in 2022, as the fruit of his ministry, more than 350 people such as Tarun have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation!
Prayers and support go a long way to fortify indigenous church planters like Pratapgarh in remote and spiritually dark places.
