Nepal & Tibet
Nepal is the beautiful home of Mount Everest! It also borders Tibet, where we support ministry in the border region. With a population of 30.5 million, Nepal has the distinction of being one of the few countries in the region never to be colonized. As such, it has maintained a rich cultural history, despite being landlocked by the two most populous countries in the world – India and China. It even has its own calendar, the Vikrami, which is a historical Hindu calendar. While it’s the 2020s for most of the world, it’s the 2080s in Nepal.
Until 2008, Nepal was the only Hindu kingdom in the world. In recent years, the church in Nepal has become one of the top ten fastest-growing in the world.
Using The Timothy Initiative’s teaching materials, our partners have trained several thousand lay church leaders. The 58 men and women we support are spread throughout the country, primarily in mountainous areas. Pastor training and disaster relief have been key areas of focus, with several recent projects also focused on economic empowerment and women’s health.
From 2021-2024, over 200 church leaders and churches were trained by HOPE International in how to run community savings groups, and 65 of these savings groups were launched. 1,580 children from low-income families living in remote villages received warm clothes and/or nutrition packets to help them withstand severe winter weather, and 25 children of missionaries received support for their education. 12 churches had their repair costs partially covered following flooding and/or earthquakes, three pastors who met with motorcycle accidents had their hospital bills covered, and another 15 ministry leaders had their Covid-19 related medical expenses provided for.
The families and widows of 60 pastors who passed away from Covid received assistance through our missionaries, while 25 missionary families received funds for emergency care for other medical issues. 870 families were supplied with vital Covid-19 food relief at the height of their food insecurity during lockdowns. A further 500 families (roughly 2,500 people) received month-long relief packets of food and water purification tablets following destructive flooding.
In partnership with SowHope, 920 women, 500 children, and 50 men participated in health clinics where they received medical care and health counseling. 52 women in need of uterine surgery were able to have the procedure, and a further 180 women were trained in counseling in the realms of family health and hygiene.
Our pastors and missionaries started 62 churches and 195 house fellowships, with 1,695 new believers receiving baptism. This was made possible in part due to 440 church leaders being raised up and trained. 30 leaders attended a monthly church planting training school at the Nepal-Tibet border, while 85 received ministry toolkits to better facilitate their outreach efforts. Several received other forms of assistance, including a motorbike, a laptop to enable our country leaders to work more effectively, and higher education support for one pastor’s son. 250 study Bibles were also distributed to believers.
Capital:Â Kathmandu
Population: 30.5 million
Religion:Â Hindu 81.3%, Buddhist 9.0%, Muslim 4.4%, Christian 1.4%, Ethnic Religions and other 3.9%
Ministries: Pastor Training, Pastor & Missionary Sponsorship, Disaster Relief & Rehabilitation
Leadership Information: The leader of our partners in Nepal and Tibet oversees a team that has planted over 150 churches in Nepal and 17 underground church gatherings in Tibet. He has been a leading coordinator of disaster relief efforts, especially after the April 2015 earthquake. He and his wife have also served in leadership with a large-scale seminary program for lay church leaders, and in training churches to run community savings groups.
Give directly to our Nepal and Tibet fund: