Draped in a beautiful sari and smiling warmly, Martha Das stands out in any setting. As general secretary of the National Christian Fellowship of Bangladesh (NCFB), she is the only female leader of an evangelical alliance in Asia. Das’s rise to this position is a major milestone in her Muslim-majority nation of 174 million people, where fewer than half a million are Christians according to the 2022 census.
In her seven years as head of NCFB, Das has built unity among Christian leadership, managed crises, improved evangelical relations with the government, undertaken community development programs, and empowered women through various initiatives.
Asa Kain, superintendent of the Bangladesh Assemblies of God (BAG) and Das’s own pastor, praised her work in reorganizing the BAG national women’s ministry. “She does well to unite different denominations by her patient communication,” Kain said.
Born in the village Kotalipara about 90 miles from Dhaka, Das grew up in a nominal Christian family. Her mother was a deaconess in their small village church of about 15 families, where “no one could read the Bible,” she recalled. “Therefore, no one taught us about the Bible, about Jesus, or at Sunday school.” Whatever they learned came from apastor from another community, who visited once a month to administer communion.
Despite this minimal access to Christian instruction, Das felt a pull toward God and the church at age nine. She would skip the first period of school every day to visit the church—often earning herself a smack on the face from her teacher for missing a class. “I didn’t feel embarrassment or shame; I thought to myself that I was not at fault, as I had gone to no other place but to church,” she said.
In 1987, at age 17, Das had a transformative spiritual experience. During the great floods in Bangladesh, a visiting Bible college student shared the gospel with her. “While he was sharing, I felt a strong force inside me, and suddenly, in the presence of my relatives, I went on my knees and accepted Jesus. He prayed over me, and joy, peace, and heat began to overflow inside me like a flood,” Das said.
This event sparked a passion for sharing her faith, and she soon began leading a youth group in her village. “So I got my first congregation,” Das said, laughing. The youth began to spend time meditating on God’s Word, fasting, singing, and praying, and “miracles of physical healing began to happen.”
Das’s early leadership was not without challenges. Her work aroused suspicion from her own mother and some older church members, and they asked Das not to gather the youth for prayer or Bible study. When the youth continued to meet at a different location, the Christian organization that was sponsoring Das’s college studies temporarily suspended her scholarship. However, her determination led to the formation of a new church, which eventually grew to include many members from her community, including her parents.
An educational pioneer
Historically, few women in Bangladesh have pursued higher education. Das has sought to break that barrier, not only for herself but also for others.
“I wanted to see Bangladeshi young girls admitted to Bible colleges, so I wrote letters to the leadership requesting them to help them pursue studies,” she said.
Her own educational journey was full of obstacles, including visa issues and cultural expectations about marriage. Potential sponsors worried that if she went overseas to study, she would marry in that country and never return. To allay that concern, she agreed at age 20 to enter an arranged marriage with Dennis Das. Both of them then enrolled at Southern Asia Bible College (SABC) in Bangalore, India.
Jacob Cherian, a New Testament professor at SABC who taught the couple, called Martha Das an “engaged learner” whose “vibrant faith shone through.”
Upon returning to Bangladesh, the couple started a church near the Dhaka airport and initiated the formation of a slum school that grew to serve 180 children. In 2004, they earned MDiv degrees from Aldersgate Divinity School in the Philippines.
Martha Das’s career progression included serving as BAG’s national ministry coordinator for women, head of the translation department for the Bible Society of Bangladesh’s northern region, and senior manager of Christian commitment at World Vision, where she was responsible for arranging spiritual retreats.
New direction for NCFB
In March 2017, Das became general secretary at NCFB. The position had been vacant for two years. Ironically, Dennis Das had applied earlier but was declined. When Das wondered why NCFB would hire her and not her husband, the alliance explained that they recognized her competence and valued having “a female figure with motherly qualities to trust and lead.”
“There should be no difference of gender,” said Philip Adhikary, chairman of NCFB. “We found Martha to be a right choice for this position whereas many male leaders weren’t.”
As she weighed whether to take the job, “God told me that he gave me good platforms and a lot of experience with different denominations and ethnic minorities,” Das said. “And if I do not step into this service, then who will? It also helped that I had the support of my husband and family.”
Demonstrating her leadership early on, Das persuaded denominational leaders to clear their outstanding dues and successfully raised sufficient funds for NCFB’s annual conference, challenging traditional expectations about women’s roles in organizational leadership.
As general secretary, Das said her primary mission is to foster unity not only among evangelicals but also within the wider Christian community and beyond, facilitating an effective witness of the gospel. When conflicts arise, Das steps in as a peacemaker and mediator. Her ecumenical influence extends further through her role as the secretary for the United Forum of Churches (UFCB), a collaborative platform that includes the NCFB, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and the National Council of Churches in Bangladesh.
Das’s influence also extends beyond religious circles. Among her noteworthy achievements, Das delivered a speech at a Christmas function hosted by former president of Bangladesh Abdul Hamid in 2022.
Das sees her position as an opportunity to inspire other women, especially younger ones, to step into positions of responsibility. Adhikary, the NCFB chairman, affirmed that “as a woman, she [Das] can reach many women to follow her lead.”
As part of her effort to establish Christians’ credibility in Bangladesh, Das conducts programs with other faith leaders. The NCFB has also initiated dialogues to raise awareness around such issues as child protection, violence against women and children, and human rights, in partnership with World Vision Bangladesh and other organizations.
A determined leadership style
Das’s leadership style, which evangelical leaders say is characterized by humility, inclusivity, and strong faith, has received international appreciation. Grace Hee, executive director of the Asia Evangelical Alliance, called Das “a visionary leader with a righteous indignation. Despite limited resources, Martha identifies what needs to be done and pursues it with unwavering faith.”
Much of this was on display during the pandemic. When COVID-19 shut down houses of worship across the country, NCFB distributed relief to thousands of families through various denominations in several phases. Simultaneously, NCFB started various initiatives, including income-generation programs, to support hundreds of pastors who had been adversely affected by the lockdown
Along with leaders from UFCB, Das also spearheaded nationwide prayer initiatives while making theological and devotional resources available to the church at large.
Das is “a warm-hearted person” who is “pastoral and with a passion for evangelism, mission, and social justice in Bangladesh,” said Godfrey Yogarajah, chairman of the Asia Evangelical Alliance, noting her theological astuteness and her commitment to equipping younger leaders for kingdom work.
The 54-year-old leader maintains an ambitious workload despite excruciating pain in her back, for which she has undergone two surgeries that have yet to eliminate the discomfort.
Das continues to push the NCFB to stretch its capacity. In one case last year, she proposed an evangelism program in an unreached district but was turned down. “So we prayed for an entire year, and this year they said yes,” she added.
Another big challenge is the uncertainty Bangladeshi churches are facing due to the political unrest in the country. After student protests last July turned violent, the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, had to flee for her life in early August. While Islam is the official state religion of Bangladesh, activists—including some Christian leaders—continue to advocate for a more religiously pluralistic and inclusive national framework, seeking to protect the rights of religious minorities.
A firm advocate for a secular state, Das emphasized that “everyone should have the right to live in peace and harmony and propagate and practice their own religion.” However, she does not always experience such security herself. If she does not cover her head when walking in public, strangers sometimes approach her and insist that she do so.
“Many believers, especially those who converted from a majority background, face persecution and threats,” said Das, who noted that the Christian minority lacks a voice in Bangladesh’s parliament.
Das also hopes to address the lack of theologically trained leadership in the churches of Bangladesh.
Das is a “motivation for Asian women,” said Jyoti Bhattarai, a member of the Asia Evangelical Alliance Women’s Commission from Nepal. Bhattarai recalled that after their first meeting—which occurred after Das asked the predominantly male evangelical leadership in Nepal to introduce her to a Nepali female leader—“Martha called me many times to encourage and inspire me. It is only because of her that I am connected with the female leadership of Asia.”
Das reflected on the skepticism she encounters as a young woman occupying a high leadership position: “Some may even feel envious, though they don’t show it outwardly. I’ve come to understand that this isn’t their personal problem but rather a result of the culture they grew up in and the mindset they’ve developed.”
To navigate these cultural dynamics, Das has developed a nuanced approach. “I’ve learned to respect older leaders as I would my own parents,” she explained. “In that way, they treat me as if I were a younger family member rather than as a threatening authority figure. While the hierarchical mindset may never go away completely, I certainly do not expect them to put me on a pedestal. I maintain respect for their experience while fulfilling my role.”
Das’s husband, Dennis, who teaches at Gloria Theological Seminary in Dhaka, agreed that Bangladesh’s traditional social system “subjugated” women (under men) and that women had fewer opportunities than men, but he believes things have changed significantly.
“Women now receive free education, and gender discrimination is minimized in job settings through quotas for women in political leadership and through loans for women in business,” Dennis Das stated. “Churches are more in favor of encouraging female leadership due to their proactive involvement and greater participation.”
Das appreciates the progress. But she is still praying that more women will “help alongside men evangelizing the nation” and not be “left behind.”
Additional reporting by Morgan Lee
