Greetings from Kathmandu. My wife and I have been in Asia for since late August and expect to be here till the end of February. We have been in Nepal now for more than a month. Their are more then 400 Churches in Kathmandu; almost all are Pentecostal. I am told that the Assembly of God is the largest denomination in Nepal.
We are aware of some solid Churches in the far south of Nepal. We also know of some solid confessional Lutheran Churches in the far North of Nepal. Kathmandu is not a place where solid Bible believing Churches abound. Sadly the one non Pentecostal evangelical Church in Kathmandu, which we were aware of was moving to multi media presentations during its worship service.
Their are Anglican parishes in Nepal. They do not use much liturgy and are Pentecostal. The Anglican Deanery of Nepal is part of the Diocese of Singapore. The Diocese of Singapore is badly infected with Pentecostalism. The legacy of Bishop Moses Tey, I suppose.
Most Christian worship services in Nepal start with at least 30 minutes of sing, sing, sing. Their are many repetitions of the chorus of the hymns. The music is almost always accompanied by a guitar and drums. Sometimes it is also accompanied by a keyboard. A few hymns are based on the Psalms. A few more are based on other Biblical canticles. Most are of human authorship and speak much of our experience. The hymnsing portion of worship is followed by pray, pray, pray. The prayers are done in unison. Much confusion. In many Churches this includes much speaking in tongues. This goes on for 20 minutes or so. This is followed by preach, preach, preach. Sermons are usually over 30 minutes.
The idea of intentional worship with well defined worship services are somewhat alien to most Nepali Christians.
Needless to say we went looking for a congregation where we could worship. We found that the Believers Church parish
www.believerschurch.com
in Kathmandu offered a refreshing change from what we usually find in what passes for Christian worship in Nepal. The normal weekly worship service is very much modeled on the service of Morning Prayer from Anglican Book of Common Prayers.
I have my reservations about the para-church organization Gospel for Asia and its founder K. P. Yohannan. K. P. Yohannan is the founding and presiding Bishop of Believers Church in India and Nepal. But in Most areas of Nepal, the Believers Church probably is the one Church that consistently offers solid preaching of God's Word.
We are aware of some solid Churches in the far south of Nepal. We also know of some solid confessional Lutheran Churches in the far North of Nepal. Kathmandu is not a place where solid Bible believing Churches abound. Sadly the one non Pentecostal evangelical Church in Kathmandu, which we were aware of was moving to multi media presentations during its worship service.
Their are Anglican parishes in Nepal. They do not use much liturgy and are Pentecostal. The Anglican Deanery of Nepal is part of the Diocese of Singapore. The Diocese of Singapore is badly infected with Pentecostalism. The legacy of Bishop Moses Tey, I suppose.
Most Christian worship services in Nepal start with at least 30 minutes of sing, sing, sing. Their are many repetitions of the chorus of the hymns. The music is almost always accompanied by a guitar and drums. Sometimes it is also accompanied by a keyboard. A few hymns are based on the Psalms. A few more are based on other Biblical canticles. Most are of human authorship and speak much of our experience. The hymnsing portion of worship is followed by pray, pray, pray. The prayers are done in unison. Much confusion. In many Churches this includes much speaking in tongues. This goes on for 20 minutes or so. This is followed by preach, preach, preach. Sermons are usually over 30 minutes.
The idea of intentional worship with well defined worship services are somewhat alien to most Nepali Christians.
Needless to say we went looking for a congregation where we could worship. We found that the Believers Church parish
www.believerschurch.com
in Kathmandu offered a refreshing change from what we usually find in what passes for Christian worship in Nepal. The normal weekly worship service is very much modeled on the service of Morning Prayer from Anglican Book of Common Prayers.
I have my reservations about the para-church organization Gospel for Asia and its founder K. P. Yohannan. K. P. Yohannan is the founding and presiding Bishop of Believers Church in India and Nepal. But in Most areas of Nepal, the Believers Church probably is the one Church that consistently offers solid preaching of God's Word.