I'm your China travel guide in exile, Missionary Ben, recording today in downtown Dhaka, the overcrowded capital of Bangladesh. Follow me on Twitter/X (@chinaadventures) where I share a new Chinese city to pray for every single day. Feel free to email anytime: chinacompass @ privacyport.com. Check out PrayGiveGo.us for everything else, incl. Patreon, Substack & books…

The Memoirs of William Milne (PrayGiveGo.us)

The Autobiography of John G. Paton (JohnGPaton.com)

Borden of Yale: The Millionaire Missionary (BordenofYale.com)

Unbeaten: Arrested, Interrogated, and Deported from China (Unbeaten.vip)

Why the Prison Pulpit?

The goal is to remind people to pray for persecuted believers as Hebrews 13:3 teaches: “Remember those who are in prison, as bound with them.” We’ve looked at Wang Yi and Early Rain Church’s writings in the aftermath of their arrest and attack in 2018, but I’ve also regularly turned to other persecuted ministers who have gone before, such as Richard Wurmbrand, to give us a voice literally from prison.

Thoughts on Bangladesh and How to Pray…

When I first started learning about Bangladesh in 2002, there were only about 130+ million people. Today that number is closer to 180! Let me help you with an example of just how crowded it is… similar in size to Georgia, Iowa, and Alabama, but with 15 or 25x more people!s

**Bangladesh is the most densely populated sovereign nation larger than 1,000 square miles**

- It has a population density of roughly 3,538 per sq. mile (1400/km)!

- Virtually all higher-density entries are tiny city-states, territories, or micro-nations far below 1,000 square miles, including: Macau (~33 km², ~22,000/km²), Monaco (~2 km², ~19,000/km²), Singapore (~710 km², ~8,225/km²), and Hong Kong (~1,100 km², ~7,000/km²).

- Among sovereign countries (or comparable large entities) exceeding the size threshold, no other nation surpasses Bangladesh. Next in line for larger countries include places like Taiwan (~636/km²), the Netherlands (~548/km²), and South Korea (~529/km²).

Islam growing faster than anything else
Christians converted from Islam are growing, but still a tiny minority (200k)
Pray for more laborers, open doors, boldness, and protection from the evil one
As always, put yourself “in their shoes” as you pray…

How to Give? MCI3.org ($50k need!)

We have a major project later this year to help the missionary arm of China's underground church.

Follow China Compass

Thank you for listening! Subscribe & leave a review on your preferred podcast platform! And don’t forget to visit PrayGiveGo.us for books + Heb. 13:3: Remember those who are in prison, “as bound with them”!