Nepal: A Nation Rich in Religion and Cultural Identity
Nepal is 81.3% Hindu, 9% Buddhist, 4.3% Muslim, and a smattering of other belief systems. The percent of the population that is evangelical Christian is statistically considered “unknown”. There are 270 known people groups in Nepal, and 259 of them (96%) are classified as unreached.
Nepal is generally considered the “most religious” Hindu country in the world. It is home to many of the most important Hindu pilgrimage sites, including the world-famous Pashupatinath Temple. The people of Nepal consider the Hindu god Lord Shiva as their national guardian deity.
The religion of Buddhism traces back its roots to the country, with Lumbini in Nepal being the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, a.k.a. Buddha. His clan, the Shakyas helped in the initial spread of Buddhism in the Kathmandu valley. Buddhism in the area gradually declined over time, with many of its practices being absorbed in Hinduism.
Catalyst Community #1 in Kathmandu: Developing Leaders Who Multiply
We recently hosted our first Catalyst Community just outside of Kathmandu (the city of temples) in Nepal. We had leadership teams representing 29 churches throughout Nepal in attendance. There was a great mix of city churches and remote village churches represented in the room. Some in attendance travelled as much as 20-30 hours across the mountains of Nepal via public bus to be with us.
It was an honor and a privilege to finally be on the ground and meeting in person with our partner Sher and his wife Kalpana. We began working with Sher and Kalpana about 2 years ago, in the midst of the pandemic. Since then, we planned, we hosted Zoom meetings with other Nepali pastors, and we looked forward to the day we could gather everyone together in one room.
We originally met Sher through our mutual friend Albert in India. We led several Catalyst Communities with Albert in Delhi, and trained him to reproduce the Catalyst System on his own throughout India. Albert attended bible college with Kalpana, and was eager to make this Nepali connection for us.
In Catalyst Community #1 we focus on four key items: Activating Faith, Developing Leaders, Creating Community, and Developing Strategic Plans.
1) Activating Faith: God Can Do Immeasurably More!
We often call Ephesians 3:20 our dream verse, and challenge our leaders to be willing to dream big dreams for God. The beauty of that verse is that it says God can do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine….and it’s completed via his power at work in and through us. So it free’s us up to dream big dreams that we know we can’t accomplish without the active presence of God’s power. Most leaders are only willing to plan for what they know they can accomplish on their own, but this will never change the world. We have to be willing to dream big, to trust God, and to step forward in faith. Only then do we truly see and experience His power at play.
2) Developing Leaders to Start New Churches
We have found that the primary hindrance to starting new churches is that we don’t have the leaders we need to lead those new churches. So the first fundamental skill we train on in CC#1 is how to create a culture of leadership development in your church. We show them how to identify future leaders, how to apprentice and train them, and how to develop a pathway to leadership in their churches.
3) Creating Community: We Go Further Together
We call it “Catalyst Community” for a reason. The collaborative learning format we use helps foster relationships among the different church teams that come together from around the region. By the time the 3 day gathering is complete, there is an exciting sense of national unity around a common mission, and people have made a connection that continues to grow throughout the Catalyst System, and hopefully beyond through ongoing participation in regional networks.
4) Building Strategic Plans to Achieve the Dream
Participants work through a series of exercises, teaching sessions, team presentations, and round table discussions, that builds toward the creation of a 2-year strategic plan for reproducing leaders, groups, and churches. After all, our ultimate goal is accelerated multiplication, and this plan gives them a roadmap for the next two years. When we return for Catalyst Community #2 we help them build a 5-year strategic plan.
Our teams represented 29 churches today, with plans to grow that to 110 churches in the next 2 years! The graphic below shows churches, leaders, and groups across the rows, and today and 2 years from now across the columns.
We Need Your Help
It has been an expensive start to 2022. We have already done ministry on the ground in Cuba, Pakistan, multiple cities in Southern Brazil, and Nepal… and the year is still young! As we finalize plans for the rest of the year we need your help to fund those plans. Your partnership makes ministry impact like what you see above possible. Join us as we catalyze movements of multiplying churches around the world together!
