Right now, a young woman in South Asia is scrolling through her phone by the light of the screen. Her village may not have reliable food or clean water — but it has a signal. And in her heart language, in the words she prays and dreams in, she has never once been invited to explore who Jesus really is.

Today, that changes.

For the first time since 2022, ExploreGod has launched outreach efforts in a new language. Through a partnership with Media Impact International (MII) in South Asia, the Gospel is going out in Bengali — one of the most spoken languages on earth.

More Than a Translation

More than simply adding a language to a list, the launch of Bengali is about reaching into people's hearts at a level that goes beyond shared vocabulary.

Around 280 million people speak Bengali. Nearly 235 million of them speak it as their heart language — the language of their prayers, their dreams, and their deepest fears.

South Asia is home to the highest number of unreached, unengaged people groups on the planet. Across the region, millions of Bengali speakers have never had the hope of Jesus offered to them in their own tongue.

The darkness here is hard to imagine. This past April, Samara, MII’s Regional Director, traveled to a specific region in South Asia where only 0.72% of the population identifies as Christian according to the country's 2011 Census. She visited the world's largest mangrove forest, where families live scattered across tiny islands, surrounded by idol worship, blind faith, and spiritual oppression.

"In some of these places, people don't have reliable food or clean water," Samara said. "But they have a smartphone. And that means the Gospel can reach them."

That is the opportunity. A barrier that once kept a Bengali speaker from ever encountering the hope of Jesus is coming down.

A Bold Experiment Bears Fruit

MII walks alongside seekers as they move from their first questions toward a real, local faith community. Its founder, David Benware, and ExploreGod CEO Jamie Radtke are longtime friends — and that friendship opened the door to a bold experiment.

Three months into a six-month pilot, the fruit is already showing. As Hamid, the Special Project Manager for MII, shared, the team set an ambitious monthly goal — 12,000 unique responders and 5,000 repeat responders — and has come within reach of it again and again.

"Even though we've faced real difficulties," he said, "the project is going really well."

For Tom Seely, ExploreGod’s Vice President of Program, the progress the MII team has made in such a short time highlights the vast opportunity in the region.

"We’ve been thrilled to see the impact of this partnership, even in the short window we’ve been working together," he said. "It’s hard to fathom how many lives will be transformed by this work, but the stories we’re already hearing are inspiring. And we’re just getting started."

The Thinkers and the Searching

Reaching Bengali speakers is unlike reaching almost anyone else.

Many are, in Hamid's words, "thinkers." They reason. They question. They arrive already holding a rich philosophy and a faith rooted in Hinduism or other religions, so the truth that salvation comes through Christ alone is not something they accept quickly. Some welcome Jesus as one more figure among many. Others, from a Muslim background, honor Him as a prophet but stop short of trusting Him as Savior.

Which is why the moments of real surrender are so precious — and so costly.

The MII team describes seekers like a young man from a Muslim background who came to faith in Christ, only to have his father discover him reading his Bible and banish him from their home. He is one of many "secret believers" across the region: men and women who have said yes to Jesus in their hearts but cannot yet say it out loud, because faith here is communal, and following Christ can cost someone their family, their standing, even their safety.

Very few stories end with a joyful reunion and a baptism before a cheering church. Many don't — at least not yet. In many areas, laws against “forced conversion” are used to discourage sharing the Gospel in any way.

As Hamid explains, "So many people are interested and get to the point where they hear the Gospel, but when they get to professing their faith in Christ, that’s where it gets difficult. We do everything we can, and the Holy Spirit has to work in their heart from there."

Which is exactly why partnership matters. Behind these numbers are real Online Missionaries (OMs) patiently walking with real people — pointing them toward online faith communities and trusted "persons of peace" who can journey with them when their own families cannot.

The Battle Behind the Launch

When asked how supporters of ExploreGod could pray for them, the MII team shared one request plainly.

This is spiritual warfare, and it is not casual. As this team has prepared to launch, they have watched children fall sick, endured miscarriages, lost loved ones, and made emergency trips to the hospital — often at the very moments they were poised to move forward. So they are gearing up the way frontline believers always have: with fasting, with prayer, and with deep spiritual discipline.

They aren't asking for sympathy. They're asking for prayer.

Be Part of What's Next

There are two ways for you to get involved today.

First, pray. Before this launch goes further, cover this team in prayer. Pray for protection over the OMs and their families. Pray for the secret believers who need courage. Pray that Bengali seekers — thinkers, questioners, families in the mangroves and the megacities alike — would meet Jesus and find Him irresistible.

Second, partner. The way is clear for Bengali, and additional critical languages are being prepared to launch before this year is out. The doors are open. The harvest is ready. Your partnership can change lives.

• Learn about becoming an Online Missionary and walk with seekers all around the world from doubt to discipleship.
• Give a gift to help more Gospel ads reach people in their moment of need.

We have an opportunity to bring hope to a spiritually hungry world — and today God is opening a path into one of its hardest-to-reach corners.

Bengali is only the beginning. The opportunity is vast. The team is ready. The seekers are scrolling.

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Names, locations, and identifying details have been altered to protect the privacy and security of the individuals involved.