I Want to Help Train Nepali Pastors

I was born in the Western region of Nepal, where my family practiced traditional Hinduism. I was born with an unknown disease. In hopes of finding a cure, my parents took me to many witch doctors. The witch doctors were unable to heal me and so my parents brought me to Kathmandu to seek out further treatment. The doctors in Kathmandu examined me but were also unsuccessful in identifying the disease.

During this time, a friend of my father shared with him about Jesus and invited him to go to a local church. Soon after that my parents became more involved in the church and acknowledged Christ as their savior. Because of their faith, they began praying for my healing. After some time and continuous prayer, God heard their prayer and healed me. This was a turning point for my parents and a catalyst for deeper devotion to Jesus. Years later, at the age of 13, I also acknowledged Jesus as my savior and was baptized three years later at the age of 16.

In 2018, my father and I started a new faith community in Kathmandu, and I have been actively pastoring and evangelizing in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim communities in Kathmandu. I have also been teaching at an international school called Kathmandu International Study Center.

I believe that the education I am receiving at Western Seminary will equip me to combat this false gospel with integrity, faith, and confidence as we apply good doctrine to daily church life.

As I have been investing in this new church movement, I have observed a growing issue in church growth in Nepal: a lack of theological trainingfor church leaders. Many leaders in Nepal teach the errant “prosperity gospel,” falsely claiming that to follow Christ always results in good health, wealth, and improved status. This message has been spread in various parts of Nepal and greatly concerns me. I know it is not a true proclamation of the gospel.

I believe that the education I am receiving at Western Seminary will equip me to combat this falseg gospel with integrity, faith, and confidence as we apply good doctrine to daily church life. It is a struggle at times to confront the lies of the prosperity gospel, but I believe that the education I am receiving at Western will be useful in Nepal to train healthy church leaders and plant healthy churches.

An educated pastoral leader is needed in Nepal now more than ever. I believe God has called me to beone of those pastors! Therefore, I am pursuing this education at Western to prepare me for when I return to Nepal. My hope is for the truth of the gospel to also spread to China and India, both bordering Nepal. They are the two most populous countries in the world and people from those countries travel to Nepal regularly.

I landed in the United States on December 14, 2022, and havebeen living near the Western Campus since then. Currently I am contributing to Hope International Church outreach ministries, sharing the gospel with more than 100 Portlanders. God willing, after I graduate from Western, my hope is to fulfill God’s calling to train pastors, leaders, churches, and church plants all over Nepal. Please, continue to pray for me as I share Jesus with Portlanders and prepare to take the gospel back to Nepal.

Adrian is a student in Western’s Master of Divinity program.