Prodip had immigrated one year earlier to the US from Bangladesh, the world’s third-largest Muslim country by population.
Although Christians comprise less than 1 percent of Bangladesh’s population, by God’s grace, both Prodip and his wife Cathrin grew up in Christian homes. Prodip’s forefathers converted to Christianity from Hinduism, changing the family’s religious trajectory for generations. Prodip followed that course and trusted in Christ in 1991, soon becoming a deacon in his home village church.
In 2008, Prodip sensed God calling him to leave his comfortable life as a banker and pursue missions. He was compelled to reach his ethnic group in the US with the gospel. For the next four years, Prodip saved enough money so that he could move to America and begin seminary. This was all in preparation to plant a Bengali church in New York, home to some 400,000 Bengalis.
In 2013, on one of those typical Saturdays in Jackson Heights, Prodip shared the gospel with a Muslim man who spoke Bengali. They kept in touch over the next several years, meeting frequently to discuss religion. Two years after their initial conversation, the Muslim man visited Prodip’s church and placed his faith in Jesus Christ. Now, he is a dedicated member of the church.
“I clearly understood that God used me for his purpose and plan by helping bring him to Christ,” Prodip explained.
Prodip’s wife Cathrin and daughter Gloria joined him in America in 2015, and Prodip planted Christ Bangla Church the following year in New York. Committed to reaching the Bengali diaspora in the US, Prodip and Cathrin needed an organization with which to partner, and ABWE was the answer to that prayer. Now, their goal is to continue to spread the gospel to the hearts of Bengali unbelievers in New York City as a part of EveryEthne.
Editor’s Note: Learn more about Prodip and Cathrin’s ministry here.
