Nepal

THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE:
The kingdom of Nepal is the world's only Hindu kingdom; however, the constitution guarantees some religious freedom. People can choose their faith, but it is illegal to convert others. An isolated mountainous land, containing 8 of the 10 highest mountains in the world, Nepal is just slightly larger than Pennsylvania and New Jersey combined. The 27,000,000 people represent approximately 95 people groups; however, caste is more crucial socially than ethnicity. The capital city, Katmandu has 1,500,000 people.

The main livelihood of the people is from subsistence agriculture, but the chief foreign exchange is earned through tourism. While 75% of the population is Hindu, Buddhists are also well represented at 16%. An estimated 450,000 people are Christians (about 2%). The first group of Christians was formed in 1959. At the climax of persecution in 1990, Christians numbered about 200,000.

THE EVANGELICAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF NEPAL:
The Evangelical Congregational Church of India began the E.C. mission outreach to eastern Nepal resulting in the planting of eight churches. We officially inaugurated the E.C. Church of Nepal in June, 2003. It is supervised by the Director of Missions of the E.C.C.I. Some of the Nepalese leaders have been trained at the Evangelical College of Theology in Churanchandpur, India. There are nearly 300 members in these eight churches.

THE LEADERSHIP:
In June, 2003 the churches elected a leadership team of five people to lead this new field of the E.C. Church, and a church center was established at Dharan, in eastern Nepal.