TRANSCRIPT

NATHAN JONES

Today, we have the privilege to hear from Martha Das of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Among other roles, Martha serves as General Secretary for the Evangelical Alliance National Christian Fellowship of Bangladesh.

I'm your host, Nathan Jones. Thank you once again for joining me on this episode of the Inspiring Stewards podcast.

Well, Martha, thank you for your time. Again, this is great to connect. So, let's just jump right in. Give us a bit of your story, your background, where you're from, your family of origin.

MARTHA DAS

Thank you, Nathan, for this opportunity. I come from a very humble village in Gopalganj, where only a few years before, the electricity has gone. I was born in 1970, right before the liberation war, brought up in that small village. I did my graduation from my home.

And I used to go to a very small village church. It is in doctrine. It's a Baptist church, but we didn't have a full-time pastor there. One pastor used to come every once in four weeks just to officiate the Lord's Supper.

So, I didn't have an opportunity even to go to Sunday school. But from very early age, maybe age of nine or ten, I could specifically feel something about God's call in my life. When I used to go to high school, I really tried to finish my small church service and go to school.

Each Sunday, the first class will be mathematics. And it will be late for me to go and catch up the first class. And then, the headmaster will come out and give a spank on my hand – why I am late. But I don't regret. I think that's how God prepared me for His kingdom.

And then, age of 17, I gave my life to the Lord and I accepted Him as my personal Lord and Savior. And that is the best decision I have ever made for my life.

From then onward, God has really been faithful, and I didn't have to turn back. It's God who has really opened His floodgate of blessings. And every step, He has helped me to come across.

And then, after finishing my graduation, I went to South India to study theology in Bible College with my husband. So, I was married only at 20 years of age.

And after coming back three years from Southern Asia Bible College in Bangalore, we came back to Dhaka and then, we pioneered a city church, which is Assembly of God Church in Dhaka City. So, that's how our ministry started.

And then, after four years or so, we moved to Bible College to teach in Assembly of God Bible College. So, we have been there for about two and a half years. Then, the Lord called us to finish our studies.

And then, me and my husband, we went to Asia Pacific Theological Seminary, which is in the Philippines, Baguio. So, we studied there Masters of Divinity and then, we came back to Bangladesh again.

And God has opened many doors for me to experience the open wide platform to serve Him. So, when I came back to Bangladesh, a position was open for me to be a women minister in Bangladesh Assemblies of God. So, I handled it for about four years.

Then, God opened me another platform, which is Bangladesh Bible Society. I served there as a head of the translation. Then, I moved to World Vision Bangladesh as head of the Christian commitment.

That was also a very big opportunity, big platform to know many faith religions and also other denomination leaders, and working with about 1,200-1,300 staff, the spiritual formation, and Christian commitment and faith-based organization relations. So, all those areas I looked after.

So, all those open forum and open platform helped me to take this responsibility, what today I am doing. I am heading the National Evangelical Alliance. We have 21 church denominations, 35 parachurch organizations.

In 35, there are some educational institutions like Bible College and some Christian organizations, like faith-based, and some are Christian NGOs. So altogether, we are about 55 denominations and organizations. So, I am working here as general secretary for more than eight years.

So, in my family, we have two boys. First one is Timothy, he is 30. So, just recently, he got married. So, our daughter-in-law is Gloria. The youngest one is 18. His name is Titus.

My husband has been working with a church-based high school as administrator. And at the same time, he works as a faculty of Bible College, part-time.

NATHAN

Do the organizations that are part of the Alliance, are they mostly local? Or are they international organizations or a combination?

MARTHA

Mostly local.

NATHAN

Okay, that's great. Well, talk a little bit about how the concept of stewardship plays a role in your work, in your life today.

MARTHA

You know, when I was growing in the Lord, age of 17, I had a wonderful young pastor. Wonderful! His teaching, his theology, his life itself was so much blessing to me – his discipline, everything.

So, from very early age, I have learned what is giving, what is tithing, how to receive things from God. Me and my little brother and my whole family, we learned that. But unfortunately, many people don't learn it. You know, many people don't obey it.

I have seen it in my life, how the Lord blessed me, blessed my family. And I think, you know, giving, especially being generous, is a gift of God. Many people have money, but they don't want to give. But you will find people, they have little, but they know how to give and what the joy of giving.

So, personally, generosity for me is very, very interesting subject, and I love it. And wherever I go, I love to talk about it, yes.

NATHAN

You are in a unique role, seeing so many organizations and denominations and churches. How do you see stewardship playing out across those organizations? Is it difficult? Is it a big part of what concerns them? What are you seeing?

MARTHA

In this part of Asian culture, especially when we got the liberation in 1971, this was a very devastated country after the war. So, many Western countries, organizations, Christian agencies came to Bangladesh to rescue, to restore our life, institution, our construction, our roads, our families.

I think from then onward, the people's dependency on the other people has grown a lot. And I think we did not correct our lifestyle from that. So, many people, you know, they want to receive than to give. So, it doesn't go with the biblical teaching.

So, I'm really concerned about how to change this mindset. Even in my organization, we have like a membership fee, you know. The organization will pay an annual membership fee. Beside that, they don't want to offer anything, you know, to run this organization. Rather, they always open and ask if there is anything that church can get benefit. So, it's very difficult.

NATHAN

So, if we take a step back, how are you seeing God at work in the world today?

MARTHA

We see that, especially in Asian countries, the global church is growing. South Asian countries like India, there are extreme persecution. In Sri Lanka, there were extreme persecution by the Buddhists. And even in Bangladesh last few months, we are going through very extreme difficulties.

But I know God is also at work and He's using young people. And He's also using the global tools like media to evangelize, even to disciple the young people. So yeah, God is working and we are part of that work.

NATHAN

If you don't mind, the young people you mentioned, are you seeing a spiritual thirst or hunger that's different now in either a more positive or more challenged way than in the past?

MARTHA

There are challenges, of course, but we also see some good things. Last month, we had a 72 hours of fasting and worship done by some organizations and I was also called to spend a whole night with them praying.

Like Youth with a Mission, you know, they're doing very good work with the young people. And some other small, small Christian organizations, they work with the young people.

So yes, there are good things that are happening. And I have seen more than 100 young people, even as young as eight years old, keeping fast for hours – 24 hours, 36 hours, 72 hours. And they have come to fast and pray in one place and discipline their life.

It is also there that the young people are getting out of the church premises, and they're living the life without God. Two paradox, both are there. But the older generation and how we perceive this and how we take this opportunity and challenge, that is also a very good question for all of us, yeah.

But I have seen young people are very open for the gospel. They're very open to evangelize. But many denominations, they don't take care of their youth. They don't know how to lead the young people, how to encourage them, or prepare them for the gospel and for the evangelizations.

NATHAN

Thanks, Martha, for sharing. As we kind of wrap up our time, what thought or encouragement would you have for those listening today, either on something we've talked about or you shared about how you're seeing God at work, but what word would you have for those listening today?

MARTHA

So, my encouragement will be to see our young people with positive eyes and give them space in the leadership. Also, I believe in intergenerational leadership, because through the media, they know so many good things that we don't know. We don't know even how to operate.

So, let us use them and give them space to the leadership, even to the church leadership, so that they grow and they learn with us. They may make mistakes, but they will correct it. And because if we don't prepare them, the next generation will have a gap, generation gap. Since they have a lot of media, they use it. Let them use it for God's glory.

NATHAN

Martha, thank you for your time.

MARTHA

Thank you, Nathan.