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 2070s 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 57 men and women we support are spread throughout the country, and 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 2021-2023, 160 church leaders were trained by Hope International in how to run church-based community savings groups, and 42 of these savings groups were launched. 1,330 children from low-income families living in remote villages received warm clothes and/or nutrition packets to help them withstand severe winter weather, and 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, while another 15 pastors had their Covid-19 related medical expenses provided for. The families and widows of another 60 pastors who passed away from Covid received assistance through our missionaries, and 870 families were supplied with vital Covid-19 food relief at the height of their food insecurity during lockdowns.
In partnership with SowHope, 920 women, 500 children, and 50 men participated in health clinics where they received medical care and health counseling. 30 women in need of uterine surgery were able to have the procedure, and a further 80 women were trained in counseling in the realms of family health and hygiene.
Our pastors and missionaries started 36 churches and 110 house fellowships, with 945 new believers receiving baptism. This was made possible in part due to 320 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 laptop to enable our country leaders to work more effectively and higher education support for one pastor’s son.
Capital: Kathmandu
Population: 30.5 million
Religion: 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 90 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 has also served in leadership with a large-scale seminary program for lay church leaders, in cooperation with several mission organizations.
Give directly to our Nepal fund: