#148: Grishma Parajuli – Hearing the Voice of Nepal’s Church – Podcast

Grishma Parajuli and Graham Joseph Hill talk about hearing the voice of Nepal’s church. The Global Church Project podcast episode #149.

Parajuli is Pastor of Nayagaun Church in Pokhara, Nepal, a vibrant Christian community of almost 1,000 believers, which also supports twelve daughter churches. Born into a high-caste Hindu family, Grishma first attended a church in 1983 in order to gather names of Christian leaders, intending to bring an accusation of forcible conversion of Hindus in breach of Nepal’s strict anti-conversion laws. Despite his hostile intentions, he was warmly welcomed by the church and given a New Testament as a gift. God met Grishma through His people and His word. The teaching of Jesus Christ touched his heart and he came to know that Jesus is The Way, accepting baptism as a believer – a risky and costly step for a high-caste Hindu person.

Since 1997, Pastor Grishma has helped lead Nayagaun Church to proclaim Jesus to their Hindu neighbours, to build unity among the Christians of Pokhara, and to engage deeply with their community through ministry to people with disabilities.

Pastor Grishma launched a national Christian training and leadership development program called Leadership Education and Development Nepal (LEAD Nepal). LEAD Nepal trains Nepali Christian leaders in theology, evangelism, pastoral care, expository preaching, transformative discipleship, as well as church leadership and administration. He also has a significant ministry with the diaspora Nepali community around the world.

This is a remarkable story. Grishma went from a spy sent to destroy and accuse the church to a pastor, converted through the compassion of Christians toward lepers, and through the compassion, witness, and prayer of God’s people. His church grew from 16 people in 1987 to over 1,000 today, and planted 12 daughter churches. Grishma started Lead Nepal, for training pastors and Christians leaders to meet the needs of the rapidly growing churches of Nepal (mobile training for Nepalese Christian leaders, focused on leadership training, theological education, and training in community development). More than 1,000 church leadership have been through this training program.

Responding to the April 2015 Nepal Earthquake, Nepalese churches came together to offer rescue services, food and clothing, rebuilding work, disaster management, community relief and development, and more.

Grishma says that Nepalese church growth is connected with personal witness, compassionate service, community development and care, serving the poor and disadvantaged, mobile leadership training, and more. The Christian message also offers hope to women and people of lower caste groups. The Nepalese churches also seek to be peacemakers between religions, political and ethnic groups, and others, in order to build a better and more harmonious society. As a minority group in Nepalese society, they come together with a common witness and service of their society and community, and common and combined forms of worship and prayer.

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