Denomination Aspires to Reach One of the World's Largest
Unreached People Groups

The Church of God Takes the First Step to Reach Bengalis in South Asia

AIMS News: Posted 6/1/2006

"Jacob" was excited. The first Christian in his region, Jacob had shared the Gospel with dozens of people in his village and other neighboring tribes in Tripura, a province in northern India. Most of
the villagers he met had never heard about Jesus Christ once in their lifetimes.

But now, he was ready to take the next step. After traveling for four days on foot and by bus, Jacob finally arrived in Calcutta, India, where he hoped he would learn more about how to share Jesus Christ more effectively with the people in his region.

In a joint effort with the Church of God denomination, based out of Cleveland, TN, AIMS held a conference in Calcutta, India, in March, to train regional leaders in Northeast India to reach the Bengali - one of the ten unreached people groups adopted by the Church of God. Among the 140 participants was Jacob - one of the top denominational church planters in the region. To date, he has planted 22 new churches and 45 home fellowships within the region.

"Although the primary work of the Church of God in Northeast India was among the tribal and Hindu peoples, the possibility of working with the Bengali Muslim people as well was discussed during the conference," said "Philip," AIMS Team Strategy Coordinator who taught part of the seminar in Calcutta. "This was a new concept for the pastors, but we believe that the Holy Spirit will guide them into cross cultural outreach among the Bengali people."

Although regional pastors began working among the Bengali Hindus in Calcutta, they were neglecting the Bengali Muslims, a much larger group. More than 120 million Bengali Muslims live in West Bengal, India, and the neighboring country of Bangladesh, where less than 1% are Christian - making Bengalis the sixth largest unreached people group in the world.

Church of God Passion for the Bengalis

During the past year, Virginia Church of God congregations decided to "adopt" the Bengalis as an unreached people group and began discussing opportunities to reach them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Leaders in state conferences began to raise funds for the missions effort and are currently working with AIMS in evaluating opportunities, specifically in Bangladesh. They agreed that the best way to reach Bangladesh was to mobilize and equip Indian and Bengali pastors to begin the efforts on the ground in Bangladesh and West Bengal.

AIMS connected them with "Brother Thomas," a pastor and leader in Northeast India who had attended the Harvest Connection seminar for Church of God leaders in Bangkok, Thailand, last year. The Church of God will work with Brother Thomas in hosting annual pastors' conferences, training leaders in church planting and missions, and assisting with the Calcutta Bible Training Center.

Casting the Vision in India

Since most of the pastors attending the conference were new to missions, the AIMS team focused solely on the Harvest Connection seminar, which introduced the participants to missions. Indian pastors within the Church of God responded with enthusiasm."We planned to schedule a complete Equipping for the Harvest conference next year with the training and implementation of partnerships," said Josiah, AIMS Equipping for the Harvest Director, who joined Philip in India. "But they caught the vision and didnít want to wait."

At the end of the four-day seminar, the participants wanted to become immediately involved. Although they had no formal training in developing partnerships to reach the unreached, the council decided on its own to form five partnerships around reaching the unreached.

"After the conference all of our pastors left for the Gospel fields with dedication and determination to do powerful ministry for the expansion of the Kingdom of God," reported Brother Thomas one month after the conference. "Many of them have started mission fields in different areas and are sharing the Gospel to the unreached one." Five new churches had already been established in Manipur, and other participants were already working among the Vipel unreached people group.

Reaching Bangladesh

After the training in India, Brother Thomas intended to travel with Philip and Josiah to Dhaka, Bangladesh, to help lead a full Equipping for the Harvest conference and meet key leaders in the capital city. But his plans changed.

"We had intended that the training in Calcutta be a jumping off place for ministry in Bangladesh," said Josiah. "But Brother Thomas' passport was about to expire, and he was unable to enter Bangladesh." Instead, Philip and Josiah proceeded without him.

In partnership with the Church of God and International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC), the Equipping for the Harvest in Bangladesh was truly an inter-denominational event. About 150 pastors from 16 various denominations attended.

After the conference, pastors from various backgrounds agreed to join together to plant churches among the unreached. They formed nine partnerships, four of which focused on Muslim people groups.

"This is a huge step for the Bengali believers," said Josiah. "Working with Muslims is a true challenge for them."

Pastors and church leaders in these partnerships plan to begin church planting efforts in the next few months. Although most plan to plant churches along their own denominational lines, a few non-denominational churches expressed interest in joining the Church of God effort in Bangladesh. AIMS is planning to connect them with Brother Thomas later this year.

"The timing appears to be ripe for a harvest and the Church of God is strong in surrounding Northeast India," said Philip. "Imagine the legacy that could be left by an itinerant Indian evangelist breaking through to new ground and establishing the Church of God in Bangladesh through the power of the Holy Spirit."

For more information about the Church of God World Missions Department, visit their website at www.cogwm.org.

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