Christianity and Nepal
With the political change in 1951 Nepal opened its doors to the outside world and Christianity entered into Nepal. International Christian mission organizations started coming to Nepal. They were not allowed by the government to engage themselves in religious activities but were asked to help in the development process of the country. Though the witness and contribution of individual missionaries and the prayer of Christians worldwide definitely contributed to the promotion of Christianity in Nepal, outside missions were not able to play a direct role in the growth of the Church and Christianity in Nepal. As there were no opportunities for higher education in Nepal, many young people went abroad for higher education. While abroad, some of them came into contact with Christianity and embraced Christianity. They came back to Nepal, shared their faith with their family members and others and established Churches. Another way in which Nepalese came into contact with Christianity was through military service in British and Indian army. The Church in Nepal is said to be one of the fasted growing Church in the world with an estimated number of 800,000 today. One factor which contributed to the rapid growth of Christianity in Nepal is through healing by prayer. Caste system in Hinduism and the Hindu domination experienced by indigenous and ethnic communities for centuries has attracted many people to Christianity. The Church started growing rapidly, specially, after the political change of 1990.
Though Christianity made some positive contributions in the Nepalese society such as breaking down the barriers of caste system, reducing the economic burden on the people and the health and education services provided by mission agencies; liberating the people of Nepal from the endless cycle of rituals and superstitions and giving them new hope, the Church in Nepal had the following short comings:
· Emphasis only on evangelization and indifference to socio- political, economical and other issues faced by the society and nation
· Failure in preserving and promoting our meaningful traditions, cultures and social norms and values that determine our national and cultural identity.
· Negative attitudes of Christians towards people of other faiths and lack of initiatives to develop harmonious relationship with them and working together on common issues.
· Lack of involvement and contribution to issues of peace, justice and human rights.
· Absence of a representative Christian body to represent the Christians in Nepal at national and international level.
· Negative attitude and wrong perception of the society towards Christians.
Formation of NCCN
To address above shortcomings and needs of the Nepali Church, the National Council of Churches of Nepal (NCCN) was established in 1999 under the initiative and leadership of Dr. K. B. Rokaya with the support and cooperation of a number of Churches in Nepal as well as the encouragement of ecumenical leaders and NCCs in South Asia.
Though NCCN was started in 1999, it became fully operational only from June 2003 when Dr. K.B. Rokaya assumed the responsibility as its General Secretary to devote more time for NCCN’s institutional development. NCCN was formally registered with the government of Nepal in May 2004 under the name Nepal Rastriya Mandali Parisad which is the Nepali version for National Council of Churches of Nepal.
The launching of the South Asia Ecumenical Partnership Programme (SAEPP) from July 2003 as a joint programme of the five NCCs of Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and ecumenical partners form the North played an important role in the institutional capacity building of NCCN in the initial period.
Objectives of NCCN
· To unite the Christians in Nepal and to encourage them to be actively involved in social and national development
· To work for peace in society by promoting a spirit of tolerance, Cooperation and understanding among the various religious communities in Nepal
To contribute to the development, preservation and promotion of the positive aspects of the religions and cultures of Nepal by conducting various studies and research
· To support the efforts and activities of any religious group, organization and institution for the promotion of human rights, peace, justice and reconciliation
· To contribute to the elimination of poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, and backwardness prevalent in the Nepali society
· To develop and strengthen networking with all groups, organizations and institutions with similar objectives at the national and international level.
Achievements
- Institutional Development of NCCN- office, core staff, networking
- More than 6500 Church leaders throughout the country have participated under Capacity Building Programme.
- NCCN has been playing an important role in peace building process through its special programme Christian Efforts for Peace, Justice and Reconciliation (CEPJAR).
- Has mobilized the various religious communities and played key role in the formation of Inter-Religious Council Nepal which is playing a vital role in peace building.
- Has been acting as the link between the Nepali Christian community and the outside society.
- Regional councils have been formed at different regions with the initiatives of NCCN and local churches to unite the church and work with them.
- Inspired by the activities of NCCN, local churches are forming inter-religious committees at local level to promote inter-religious dialogue.
- Churches are becoming involved in peace building work at local and national level.
- Brought the Churches in Nepal in contact with the Churches in South Asia and as well as whole Asia through its involvement in SAEPP, CCA, and WCC.
- Made the Christian Community in Nepal visible in society through networking with the media and wide media coverage of its activities.
Working Areas of NCCN
NCCN has been focusing its activities mainly in the four programme areas of SAEPP- Leadership Capacity Building, Peace and Reconciliation, Inter-faith Cooperation and HIV and AIDS. Other priority areas of NCCN included institutional capacity building of NCCN, policy advocacy and networking of the Churches at National, Regional and Global level.
A. Leadership Capacity Building
Under the leadership Capacity Building programme, NCCN has been organizing leadership capacity building trainings for Pastors and Church leaders all over the country. The role of Christians in National development, contextual interpretation and application of the biblical message,
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NCCN General Secretary Dr. K.B. Rokaya addressing the ecumenical leadership capacity building Training for Pastors, Youths and Women Leaders organized in Dharan from 28-31 March 2004
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Gospel and culture, peace, justice and human rights, globalization and its impact, current socio-political context and role of Christians, inter-faith cooperation and religious harmony and alternative approaches to development are some of the major topics covered in these trainings.
So far 27 capacity building programmes and Church leaders conferences have been organized and around 6500 pastors and church leaders have participated in these programmes.
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General Secretary Dr. K.B. Rokaya doing presentation in training programme organized for Pastors and Church leaders
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Important Features of Leadership Capacity Building Trainings
· There has been encouraging participation of Christian women leaders in leadership Capacity Building programmes.
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Women Leaders’ Capacity Building Training Program held in Kathmandu from 26-28 Oct. 03, Kathmandu, Nepal
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Women Leaders’ Capacity Building Training Programme held in Nawalparasi from 30 July to 2 August 2005
· Most of the participants of the Leadership Capacity Building programmes have been second line Church leaders and youths
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Participants of Church Leaders' leadership Capacity Building training programme organized in Dhading in praise and worship session
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· Local Churches have started taking initiatives in organizing leadership Capacity Building Trainings at local level.
· Regional Councils are also taking initiatives to organize training programmes, seminars and workshops at local level.
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Church leaders' conference on the “Role of Christians in the present context” jointly organized by NCCN and VCC on 5 March 2007 in Kathmandu
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- Local churches are being evolved in promoting their cultural identity without compromising their faith in Christ
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The organizing Committee welcoming the guests and speakers of Church Leaders' gathering and Capacity Building Training held in Kathmandu
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