Nepal (MNN)–Nepal’s church is experiencing exponential growth despite a continued insurgency.
Maoists have extended the ceasefire by another three months. The government is echoing the optimism as talks moved forward toward ending a decade of civil war.
The political instability and Maoist insurgency exists, but it is not a primary factor of hindrance to evangelism. The fault there lies in a lack of workers in the mission field.
IN Network Nepal believes the work of church planting is in the hands of the local people.
As part of their successful growth model, aside from evangelist training, IN Network’s Rody Rodeheaver says the Lydia Vocational Center trains Christian ladies in vocational skills as well as the Bible. “We also teach them skills like first aid, midwifery, sanitation types of things, so they can help improve their village and in doing that, help establish the church and help become a servant to those very isolated communities.”
If a quarter of the same growth rate can be maintained for another two decades the whole nation will be reached completely with the Gospel of Christ. There would be more than 5 million believers by 2025.
Teaching the indigenous Christians to own their faith means an eventual church plant comes from nurtured relationships, says Rodeheaver. “Each one of these women then makes a commitment to share the Gospel with so many women during the course of the year. It’s amazing what God has been doing in terms of winning people to Christ.”
