Every other month our CLC Board of Missions updates us with recent news from various mission fields.
After months of planning, government approval, and preparation, construction began shortly after Easter 2025 on the Bangladesh Lutheran Church Mission (BLCM) building project in Gopalganj. That project is now reaching its final stage. The Board of Missions recently approved a final MDF-Church Building grant to help purchase the furnishings and fixtures needed to complete the dormitory rooms, classroom and worship space, and residence for Pastor Monotosh and his family.
This building is intended to serve several important purposes for the work of the BLCM. It will provide a place for worship, instruction, storage, and housing. It will also support the long-planned opening of a Bible Institute for the training of future pastors and teachers. Fourteen men have been ready and eager to begin pastoral training once the building is completed. The plan is for a four-year course of study with monthly in-person sessions, combining classroom instruction with practical outreach.
This is the kind of work Paul encouraged when he wrote to Timothy, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2, NKJV) That passage describes well the goal of this project: not simply to finish a building, but to provide a place where the Word of God can be taught, confessed, and passed on to others.
This project is also a good example of how the Mission Development Fund is used. The MDF is intended to help develop mission work. In Bangladesh, that means helping provide a permanent place from which the BLCM can carry out the work of preaching, teaching, training, and outreach.
The need for this work is clear. Pastor Monotosh is the only ordained pastor of the BLCM. He serves congregations and preaching stations spread across several areas of Bangladesh, while also working with pastors in training, lay leaders, and evangelists. Many BLCM members are new to the Christian faith and were raised in either Hindu or Muslim homes. That background makes continued instruction in God’s Word especially important.
A permanent facility is especially valuable in this mission field. In the past, Pastor Monotosh and his family have had to move several times because neighbors objected to the Christian singing and ministry taking place where they lived. A building owned and used by the government-registered BLCM will allow the church to continue its work with greater stability.
We give thanks that the Lord continues to provide for His Church in Bangladesh. Please pray that He would bless the completion of this building, strengthen Pastor Monotosh and the BLCM, and raise up faithful men to proclaim Christ crucified and risen for the salvation of sinners.
is pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Winter Haven, Florida, and a member of the CLC Board of Missions.