Light of the Gospel Shines Into the Darkness
Pastor Prakash* sat quietly in the front passenger seat as National Church leader Obadiah* carefully drove the 4-wheel drive SUV up the mountain trail. We drove for an hour-and-a-half out to a village – Lakshya* – to share in worship with a brand-new congregation there. Pastor Prakash* and/or a lay leader from his church had been making the drive up the mountain by a light motorcycle, or by a three hour walk for four months, to provide leadership and encouragement for these new believers. Though a quiet-spirited man, Pastor Prakash* has a deep and passionate love for Christ and getting the Gospel message spread among his own countrymen.
The national leadership of the Nepal Wesleyan Church had set the goal of starting no less than five new churches in Nepal each year for the next five years. This is a bold and God-sized goal for this first-generation network of churches led by mostly young pastors. Lakshya* is where one of the newest of these new churches is located.
Obadiah* parked the SUV in a postage stamp-sized space of shade, and we were escorted to the leading Christian family’s home, where we washed off the travel dust and sat on the floor to share a simple meal with these believers. The congregation had been worshipping weekly in the back bedroom which had been vacated for these worship purposes. We learned that this young couple had been sleeping on a small makeshift cot in their grain storage room for four months, since they surrendered their bedroom for congregational worship.
After the meal we gathered for worship in the bedroom-turned-worship-sanctuary along with approximately 15 local adult believers. The sweet presence of God was wonderfully evident. We then walked to a vacant field perched on a ridge of the mountain, and prayed over the piece of land which had been offered to this young congregation for purchase, in hopes of a more permanent place of worship. Together we asked God to provide the funds needed to purchase the land for this church.
This church is one of the most recent congregations begun by the Nepal Wesleyan Church. A generous donor in the United States has since offered the startup funding for each of the five church starts each year. This startup money covers the purchase of land, the build of a modest but very adequate structure for worship with essential equipment included, and 3-6 months of initial support for the beginning pastor. So, this church now owns the parcel of land and will soon begin building a simple structure for worship. God is raising up a witness to the “Light of Christ” in Nepal through the Wesleyan Church. Praise Him!
*First name changed/last name omitted due to security guidelines