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Church Planting:
Indonesia and Bangladesh
While we are on track to plant churches in these two significantly Muslim populated countries, we are still 2+ years from seeing on the ground development.
What we have learned about both countries—
• Relational evangelism is particularly effective in Indonesia and Bangladesh.
• Building genuine friendships and demonstrating the values of the Good News through acts of kindness, compassion and integrity can resonate deeply with the people of both countries.
• It is illegal to proselytize in both places, therefore great care must be taken in any advancement.
• Persecution of churches and Christians, access to education and job limitations for minorities, along with high levels of violence are all part of the Indonesia and Bengali contexts.
Indonesia
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, is home to over 270 million people. While Islam is the dominant faith (86% of the population), Christianity has a growing presence, particularly in regions such as North Sumatra, East Nusa Tenggara, and Papua, where Christians constitute significant minorities. Christians make up roughly 10% of the national population, equating to 32 million people.
Barriers to church planting include Indonesia’s strict blasphemy laws and societal pressure in Muslim-majority areas, where religious tensions can be high. Local regulations often require majority community approval before building new churches, making church planting in rural or highly Islamic regions difficult.
We are in the “initial” stages of forging and vetting the relationships with work already in process on the ground that we can learn from, compliment or even work with. We estimate our first churches being planted in 2026.
Bangladesh
Our Research has only begun in Bangladesh, as we amass strategic relationships with key leaders already working there. The initial ministry outreach has been solely through our Digital Media Outreach, running ads, hiring Bengali responders, forging partnerships with other like-minded Missional organizations. We do know of just over 1,000 Christian churches, mostly Roman Catholic.
Ultimately, reaching the people of Bangladesh with the Good News is about building bridges of understanding and trust as well as utilizing strategies that are helpful to everyday life, such as education, medical clinics, food security, and more. We estimate our first churches being planted in 2027.