TAN Mission to Nepal
Nestled in the Himalaya Mountains between China and India, this small nation of nearly twenty-nine million people is still basically Hindu although the king was recently removed from power and a secular democracy put in place. Hindus still make up seventy-two percent of the nation. Buddhists claim nine percent, and Muslims comprise four percent. Christians trail at fourth, with four percent. However, Christianity is growing twice as fast as other faiths, and the church is growing faster there than in any other nation in the world. In 1960, missiologist Patrick Johnstone reported just twenty-five believers. Today the number has risen to more than a million, and that number is projected to double within the next quarter century.
William Carey's Serampore Mission group prepared the way for evangelization activities in Nepal when it translated the Bible into Nepali in 1821. The legendary Sadhu Sundar Singh trekked through Nepal on several trips to preach in the early 1900s. Early mission attempts into Nepal included Scottish missionary William MacFarlane's Eastern Himalayan Mission that focused on education and evangelism in the late nineteenth century, and the Australian Nepalese Mission that was founded in Melbourne in 1911. Ganga Prasad Pradhan, born into a wealthy family in Kathmandu in 1851, became the first ordained Nepali pastor. He was expelled in 1914 by the royal decree, "There is no room for Christians in Nepal." Some forty years later, his grandson, Rajendra Rongong (our personal friend), was among the first group of Darjeeling Nepali Christians to return to Kathmandu. It was at that point that Christianity really began to take root in the country under the leadership of our dear friend Rev. Robert Karthak. Other close friends of ours who came into Nepal at this same time to do social work and to spread their faith included Eileen Lodge who has given more than fifty years of service to the lepers of Nepal and Elizabeth Mendies who has cared for the country’s orphans for the same amount of time. In addition, a group of mostly Western missionaries formed the United Mission to Nepal (UMN) in 1954, focusing on medical and educational work. UMN missionaries signed a required agreement with the king not to proselytize. However, some ethnic Nepali Christians were determined to be more open about their faith. For example, the late missionary Prem Pradhan proclaimed, "Christ died for me openly before all; how can I proclaim Him privately?" He received a six-year prison term for baptizing nine believers in 1960, but was released under amnesty rules on the king's birthday, after serving four-and-a-half years in prison. Despite hardship, Prem Pradhan established a missionary school in Kathmandu with support from US-based Christian Aid Mission. However in 1972 royal troops closed the school and killed one of the teachers. Prem was again sentenced to prison; this time for twenty thousand days (53 years), but he was eventually freed after paying a ransom of one rupee per day ($2,000). While in jail, at least a dozen political prisoners became Christians who, after their release, helped spread Christianity and to establish churches. Another missionary, a former Hindu priest, began circulating a Bible correspondence course in the 1980s; more than four hundred thousand Nepalis eventually subscribed to the course.
Today more than half of all Christians belong to independent groups, and charismatics number some six hundred fifty thousand. When Every Home for Christ began its outreach into Nepal in 1982, it was illegal for Christians to share the gospel, but former EHC Director Solon Karthak began working with a handful of courageous believers with the vision of visiting every home in the country to share their faith. To date, EHC has reached every home, even in the most remote villages and has more than halfway completed a second coverage of the country. They report more than three hundred fifty thousand responses to their literature outreaches and have established almost nine thousand Christ Groups, which are essentially pioneer church plants. The growth of Christianity in Nepal has occurred exactly the way it did as narrated in the book of Acts or in the gospels--through healing the sick, casting out demons, forgiving sinners, reconciling families, and giving the hope of eternal life. Evangelism is easier in the cities because people are less connected than in the villages where everyone in part of a corporate whole rather than nuclear families or individuals on their own. In the villages, Christians are considered unclean because they don’t participate in the Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim rituals of the locality. Those who eat meat, especially those in Hindu villages who eat beef and those in Muslim villages who eat pork, are banned from touching the community water supply and other facilities for fear that they will “contaminate” the other villagers. The result is that they are essentially outcasts and wind up being excommunicated.
Though there is a tremendous revival spirit throughout the country, not all is peaceful. Nepali Christians have faced all kinds of abuse and isolation in recent years. Many have even paid the ultimate price for their faith. Our translator recently wrote concerning an experience in which one of his pastor friends visited his home to share the gospel and show the Jesus Film. Unfortunately, our translator’s father became very angry and forced the guest to turn off the film and run from the house. But this kind of hostility is not only localized in a few homes here and there; it is widespread throughout the country. Several months ago a bomb was detonated inside a church, killing two believers and injuring fourteen others. Miraculously, the kingpin behind the bombing plot was arrested and placed in a prison where there is a very active Christian Bible study and fellowship. Recent reports we have received from that group tell us that the man behind the bombings is now attending their fellowship meetings and responding to the gospel. He has repented for his deeds and has extended an official apology to the church and asked for their forgiveness. In addition to the religious hostilities the believers have experienced, the country as a whole has suffered greatly under the Maoist insurgency that has cost the country thousands of lives and untold difficulties through strikes that have totally shut down the government and economy of the country. The people have experienced extreme shortage of daily supplies, and the prices of daily essentials have been increased unexpectedly. However, Nepal's churches are not shutting down despite the political turmoil in the country. In fact, churches in Nepal are actually growing while the Maoist party continues strikes and protests. At one point, the insurgents implemented a policy of extortion of Christian leaders in which demands for large sums of money were accompanied by threats of kidnappings or burning of homes if the funds were not delivered. Very close personal friends and co-workers of ours in Nepal were targeted in these extortion plots; however, they were protected through God’s grace and the prayers of the saints.
The political system of the country has been in a constant state of flux during our entire experience there. At present, there is no active constitution in place, though a constitutional congress of six hundred five delegates have been selected. Unfortunately, there are no Christian representatives among them. Although this body’s first task is to be to install a new prime minister, eleven attempts have failed to place a chief executive in power. While extreme forces attempt to return the country to a Hindu state and a popular movement wishes to reinstate the royal family, the Maoists are claiming a commonality with the Christians because they both want a secular state based on a democratic process. Presently, Christians have total freedom, Christmas is now recognized as a legal holiday, and in a recent public display (even broadcast on television) the government honored the Christian leadership for their contributions to the country; however, all that can change overnight if a new constitution is adopted which returns the country to its Hindu roots.
Charisma Magazine reported Nepal as the hottest spot on the planet for the gospel at this moment. The article said that the church is growing there faster than in any other place in the world. We can certainly confirm this report from having been an active part of the revival for the past thirteen years. We have friends in the country who can personally remember when they could count the entire Christian population on the fingers of their hands; today, the number of believers is pushing one million!
Since religious freedom was granted in the nation in the early ’90s, Teach All Nations has been dedicated to going into Nepal to train leaders for this emerging church. On our first mission into the country, we were asked to start by explaining what the word “hallelujah” means. Since that time, we have been able to teach the leaders many principles including such practical truths as the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, spiritual warfare, and deliverance. In addition, we have been privileged to publish a number of books and teaching materials in the Nepali language as well as to provide materials in English for those who know the language. The following articles chronicle our work in Nepal over the years of our involvement.
Nepal 1990 Nepal 1992 Nepal 1993 Nepal 1994 Nepal 1995 Nepal 1996 Nepal 1997 Nepal 1998
Nepal 1999 Nepal 2000 Nepal 2001 Nepal 2002 Nepal 2003 Nepal 2004 Nepal 2005 Nepal 2006