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http://www.nepalnews.com/10 January 2003Missionaries giving finishing touches to

master plan in HimalayasBy Surendra PhuyalKATHMANDU, Jan 9 : Christian

missionaries have congregated at a quiet resort, on the outskirts of the

capital city, where they are discussing the pros and cons of a strategic plan,

which aims to multiply churches across the length and breadth of theHimalayas.

They plan to achieve this by exploiting the marginalised conditions of

religious communities in the face of the worsening conflict. The missionaries

will work in the Himalayan region, which includes "any area from the high

Himalayan peaks south to the Terai region, extending into northern India". The

region includes Nepal, India (Sikkim) and Bhutan. More than three dozen senior

Christian missionaries,fluent in Nepali and mainly from the Western countries,

are partaking in what they assert is an 'INGO Business Meeting' that kicked off

on Janaury 4. The low-profile gathering will conclude on Saturday, chalking out

and finalising what they call "overarching strategies for the Himalayan

region". "We will work to establish churches in the Himalayan region, and

sending churches and like-minded organisations in bi-vocational holistic

ministry" is the vision statement of the Himalayan Partners, an INGO which is

organising the meet. The Himalayan Partners' strategic plan, which is being

discussed at length during the weeklong meeting, has a clear roadmap for the

Christian missionaries'. Basically, it underlines three strategies: targeting

not yet reached people groups; targeting the neediest geographic area; and

empowering the national church for missions. The Kathmandu Post has obtained a

copy of the strategic plan. As part of the strategies, the document says that

the Himalayan Partners has selected what it feels is the most pressing people

group to be reached in the Himalayan region. "A key part of reaching a people

is to have the church geographically available," the second strategy reads.

"Currently we have large tracts of land in Nepal, up to whole districts,

without asingle church.These are in geographical areas including the

northern districts (all Tibetan Buddhists), the far west, and a few areas in

the Terai. We have chosen the far west to continue to work." As part of its

third strategy to empower what they call the National Church for Missions, the

document says, "the Himalayan Partners will work with the National Church to

empower, encourage and promote an indigenous Nepali missions movement in the

church. "There are a variety of fronts where indigenous missions need to be

promoted within Nepal. One area ofgrowth that we will promote are induction of

Nepalis in cross-cultural missions, both within and outside Nepal."And key

concepts of what they call "Himalayan Partners Ministry Philosophy", according

to the document, are: working in the Himalayan region; working in partnership;

working in diverse platforms; working in Holistic Ministry; working to

strengthen national capacity; and working for sustainability. Besides forging

partnerships with "local churches and like-minded organisations", the

missionaries have also emphasised the need to push forward what they call

"bi-vocational missionary approach", meaning "performing a task or job that

gives credible presence in the country, in addition to our church planting

vocation.""We believe that to be a proper witness for Christ," the document

says, "we must maintain excellency in both professions. We encourage the use of

non-tourist visas as a long-term method for maintaining residency, as we believe

that it is easier to live and work in the Himalayan region as a resident

expatriate. We will use any of the visa options below as means toestablish

residency."

The missionaries' strategic plan also encourages such institutional projects as

hospitals which - something the document says has been the historical

methodology of TEAM Nepal, a partner of the Himalayan Partners. "We believe

this methodology is valid and effective and will continue to support this as

one of the platforms we use in church establishment," the document says. "In

keeping with TEAM's philosophy of Health Care Ministry, our health care

initiatives are to facilitate the growth of the body of Christ by restoring

physical, emotional and spiritual wholeness to individuals, families and

community through preventive and curative medical services while demonstrating

the love and compassion of Jesus Christ."The missionaries also plan to place

personnel in national organizations or in government-sponsored positions, which

is "another platform that can make an impact in church establishment". "A

particular placement in a national organization should fit into the overall

strategic initiative being pursued," it says.Another major strategy of the

missionaries is to make use of student visas. "Initially, access through a

student visa is a valuable way to learn language and culture," the document

says. "We encourage new personnel that are coming for specific initiatives to

consider this option in the beginning as a temporary way to maintain access

until other options becomeavailable." And the missionaries plan to establish

churches at a variety of levels. The levels include primary evangelism,

discipleship, leadership development, consultation and finally withdrawal. "We

believe that it is vital for the establishment of an active andgrowing

indigenous church, to encourage and promote missions as part of the church

establishing effort." For sustainability, the missionaries "believe in

ultimately establishing indigenous reproducing churches". "We believe that

missionaries are most effective when we teach and train nationals rather than

doing the work ourselves," the document says. "In order to foster independence

and sustainability, we must focus on efforts in developing, training and

finally turning over our projects."When contacted for comments, the organizers

refused to divulge details. "This is purely a business meeting, it's organized

by an INGO," Steve Novel of the Himalayan Partners said in Nepali, when this

reporter, posing as a Kathmandu churchman, queried about the outcomes of the

meeting. "We build hospitals around the country, you know." Interestingly,

themissionaries' 11-page action plan has used the conclusions or results of a

recent workshop - on implementation of rural infrastructure projects - such as

drinking water facilities - in conflict situation - which, the document says,

was jointly organized by the HMG/ADB, PPTA and DFID. The Christian Strategic

Plan comes hot on the heels of Pope John Paul II's recent call for greater

evalgelisation in Asia, which has irked many religious leaders across the Asia

Pacific region. During his historic visit to India in November 1999, the

Pontiff of the Vatican Church emphasized that Christianity should spread in

Asia in the third millennium. He had recommended "aggressive conversion" in

Asia to make that happen - a move Hindu and Buddhist religious leaders,

gathered in Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, shortly after the Pontiff's

India visit, described as "crime against humanity".Discover your Indian Roots at

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