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The deep water port of Chittagong is Bangladesh’s second largest city. Hundreds of years ago Arab traders came to the port seeking silk and spices, and leaving behind the message of Islam. Today this shipping centre is also the cultural hub for the Chittagonian people group. Living in the area from Chittagong in the north to the border of Myanmar in the south, this ethnic group includes an estimated 14 million people. They are set apart from the majority Bengali people through their clothing, food, customs, and most importantly, their language. Chittagonian, or Chatgaya Buli as they call it, has often been mistaken for a dialect of Bengali. However, uneducated Chittagonian speakers cannot understand standard Bengali. Growth of the church among the Chittagonians has been slow, possibly due to the fact that many Chittagonians do not understand Bengali. Even now they do not have a single portion of the Bible in their language. They are the largest people group in the world without the Bible in their own language.

Jesus Film in Chittagong

Several years ago God gave a group of Chittagonian believers a vision for reaching their own people. With help from some other groups, they were able to translate the Jesus Film into their language. The response to this ministry tool has been very positive. After seeing the film for the first time, one Chittagonian man said, “Jesus must be our prophet because he speaks our language.”

Today the Chittagonian people are at a crossroads spiritually. Living in the poorest area of one of the poorest nations on earth, they have little opportunity for advancement and education. Conservative Muslim groups have taken advantage of this situation, building many Muslim schools for the young people. Here they learn to read and write and to recite the Qu’ran. In some cases they are also taught fundamentalist Muslim doctrine. The past decade has seen a growth in conservative Islamic politics as well.

Critical Timing

The next few years are crucial to seeing a strong Christian witness established among these people. Only a handful of Christians are focusing their work on this people group, and the number of Chittagonian believers is likely to be less than 300. Those who are working among this group need tools to present the good news in the heart language of these people. Chittagonians have a very low literacy rate, less than 10% for village women. Recorded scriptures, storytelling programs, and video projects are vital in order to present the good news in the heart language of those who cannot read.

Prayer Guide for the Chittagonian people

* Pray for workers who are committed to reaching this group. Christians will need to be committed to learning this unwritten language.

* Pray for the tiny group of Chittagonian believers as they bravely reach out with very limited resources. They work hard to build relationships of trust. One Christian worker says that up until now it has usually taken an average of six years for people to become believers after their first contact with the Gospel.

* Pray for the establishment of a Chittagonian Prayer Network among believers world-wide. There is a need for constant prayer for this large, but long-neglected people group.

Background information, map and statistics about Bangladesh can be found on site here …>>

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Filed under: Asia, South C. by TDI | Email this story