Nepal (MNN) — In 1974 there was only one evangelical church in Nepal, with 300 people attending. Today, there are more than one million people claiming Christ as their Savior, and the number of churches is growing. Global Action is helping facilitate that growth with their Global Module Studies program (GLOMOS).
Speaking from the region, Global Action founder Lars Dunberg describes GLOMOS. "We train pastors who also have some other occupation, so they can't come for a whole week or a whole month. They come for three days a month for 10 months. We just had graduation yesterday for 69 of these students."
Last year, they had 65 graduates. Dunberg says GLOMOS is a multiplication effort. "Each of them will in turn train a minimum of five other leaders using the same material, who will in turn start other churches. So, we will see a chain reaction of new churches springing up in the villages, out in areas where there is no Christian witness."
The former monarchy in Nepal was antagonistic to Christians, but when it was overthrown by the Maoists, Christians felt a sense of freedom. That's changing a bit, but Dunberg says Christians are moving forward. "They are taking every opportunity to move into every open door they see and are taking advantage of spreading the Gospel."
The demand for the program isn't diminishing for next year's GLOMOS program. Dunberg says, "We have about 150 on the waiting list. How can we pick 70 to 75 people out of 150? These are the most needy and the ones who will benefit most. We need to pray that we have the finances to put them through the program."
It costs about $900 per year ($75 a month) to sponsor a pastor in training. Dunberg says, "That includes all the training materials, all the sessions, all the meals, some of them need lodging when they come, and then at graduation we give them a library of 10 books, equipping them for ministry."
If you'd like to support a pastor in GLOMOS training, click here.
