CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENTS IN URBAN SETTING

Strategizing the Aggressive Discipleship Multiplication Attempts in Nepal

Purpose Statement
The purpose of this paper is to briefly discus about the urban situation in Nepal in the
light of church planting movement and significance of the urban ministry thorough sustainable
strategies for the aggressive discipleship multiplication targeting the towns and cities in Nepal.
This paper acknowledges the limitation of inadequate sources and precedes in discussion basing
on the ministerial experiences of the researcher. It focuses particularly urban people, primarily
young people whom can be identified through three different windows: elite window - the
educated ones and influencers or leading figures in the communities; window 9/5 – the working
people in offices; and window 13/40 – the young people of 13 to 40 years of age bracket who are
normally open to changes in their lives. And finally, this concludes with recommendations of
how the genuine obedience to the great commission would result in intentional disciple making
programs strategically sustainable church planting and discipleship multiplication movement in
the urban situation in Nepal and beyond.

Background Information
Nepal is a tiny landlocked country situated between two giant countries China and India.
The population of Nepal was estimated at just over 28 million in July 2006, which was only 15
Million in 19811. Stating the population figurers, 64% of the population in Nepal fall primarily
into the 13 – 64 year bracket, with 32% in the age 0 – 12 bracket and only 4% in the 64 years and
above category2. The population figure shows that over 40% of population is in 13 – 40 years of
age bracket, which means there are more than 22 million young people are in this age group and
over 97% of them do not know Jesus.
The global growth rate of Christianity is three times higher than the population growth
rate. Stating from DAWN ministries,
30,000 people both in China and India are coming to Christ daily, 10,000 daily in Latin
America, and 20,000 daily in Africa. Globally at least 165,000 people are coming to
Christ every single day. Christianity is by far the fastest growing religious group in the
world.3

This information excites all Christians, but there is something considerable, which will be
examined later in this paper. As this paper focuses on thorough discussion of church-planting
movement in urban setting particularly developing specific strategies for an aggressive
discipleship multiplication attempts in Nepal, the further disclosure will concentrate on similarly
1
Source taken from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/article/Nepal/Population-in-Nepal/234.
Accessed on June 17, 2016 by 12:15pm.
2
Ibid
3
Ted Haggard and Jack W. Hayford. Loving Your City into the Kingdom. Regal Books: Ventura, California,
1997. p1.

1
both in semi-urban and metro-urban situations. Taking example of the metro-urban areas of
Kathmandu valley that includes other three major historical cities, Patan, Bhaktapur and Kirtipur,
and other adjacent older townships of Sankhu, Lubhu, Khokana, Tokha and Narayansthan, the
urbanization process and the immigrant population density does not match. In the same rapidity
of the growing cities in Nepal are also seem to be with mass immigrants, even illegal settlers and
slums. Physical infrastructural development has become messy. Unplanned structures, narrow
road accesses, poorly managed water and electricity supplies, immature garbage and sewerage
management, and meager education and health provisions are the main problems the cities’
people are facing. The urban annual population growth rate in Nepal was already 5.7 before 1990
but it climbed up quickly. The total population size of Kathmandu valley increased almost three
times larger in 23 years of period from 1995 to 2018. 4 People rapidly moved to main cities and
headed to Kathmandu seeking security while the other parts of the country went under the threat
of violent Maoist activities in the last decade, but the migration ratio continued for probabilities
of economic opportunity.
The Christianity in Nepal, including all denominational churches who bear Jesus’ name in
them only is counted less than 2%, while the Hinduism is the majority religion which occupies
86% of population followed by Buddhism 8% and Muslim 4%. As mentioned majority of the
people in Nepal are devout Hindus and follow a hierarchical caste system. And those people in
other majority beliefs are also much focused on their own religiosity, which contrasts with the
Biblical message the Christians are to bring in. Traditions and cultural precepts are the main
hindrances they have to pass through. The task to reach them with the gospel is really a huge,
and this spins the minds of genuine followers of Christ that how they should reach entire country
with the good news? Thus the task of evangelism and sustainable disciple making process needs
particular strategies to follow, which will be discussed in the next paragraphs.

Church Growth Analysis

It would be all right to begin with a glance on two different surveys done in Kathmandu
valley in 2002 and 20075, which give the Christian population and the number of churches in
Kathmandu Valley, the capital metro-city of Nepal. The first results of total 234 Christian
congregations (called churches) with 22,932 Christian populations, in average of 98 members in
each local church, and the second gives figure of nearly 500 congregations with average of 77
members to each. Seeing increased numbers of local churches excites the Christians. However it
bothers the serious ones. it shows that the church growth goes more than double within five years
of period, but the individual Christian growth is not competing with the church growth.
This is just a glimpse of the current trend of the so-called “Church Planting Movement”,
where there is given tremendous figures of church growth, but the Christian population
decreased relatively. This is which is called “the numerical growth” not in “size”. What does it
mean? Seriously, it means that there is an explosive commotion inside the congregation, which
is prone to growth, but unfortunately it results in splitting because of the lack of vision, skill and
4
Source taken from http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/kathmandu-population/ Accessed on Jan
10, 2019 by 11:16pm.
5
BP Khanal, Prithak Bichar (Uncommon Thoughts on Contemporary Christian Leadership). Kathmandu:
Bachan Books, 2012, p192-201

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understanding the biblical mandate among the leaders. This scenario is more damaging than
building up of a healthy and balanced Church in a certain locale and her relationship with the
other Churches in the same area. Apparently, church growth is not merely the numerical
increasing that church grow bigger and bigger, but it is indeed primarily growth has to be
wholistic, basically the spiritual –
Lifting the level of the spiritual tone and tenor of the fellowship so that any one coming
inside the church will experience something of the presence of God, of the love of Jesus,
and the power of the Holy Spirit.6

Addressing the Current Theological Issues

There is something lacking in regards of contextualization of the biblical message and
forming of a Nepali Christian Theology, which suits to the particular cultural background. While
mounting the issues of Nepal, where there is only less than sixty years of experiences in
Christianity. When the Gospel entered the Land, it came simultaneously from the west and the
south Indian missionaries along with the Western as well, but the influencing source of ready-
made-Theology was particularly from the West. It first attacked was the culture without proper
discernment of its complexity with the religions. The newly planted Church has tendency to give
up all of her own cultural norms and follow Western patterns of Christianity. For example, the
women are asked to put off their all cosmetics as a sign of their conversion. Other example is
marriage - wearing and celebrations are forcefully became Western styles, not usual Nepali.
These two are just example, but there are hundreds of behavioral practices that need to be re-
theologized in Nepali way.
A work of redefining the cultural and traditional behaviors can be the best linking points
between the dominant Hindu and minority Christian peoples. Most of the festivals and
ceremonies are intertwined in religion and culture, which, at present, has become debatable even
among Hindus. They want to redefine and give separate adherent to the religion and cultural
tenants. The Christians should discern the time. The post-modernists are rejecting the
hierarchical caste system the extremists Brahmanism, which kept people in discrimination and
suppressed the low castes for thousand years. They are in process of contextualization, thus this
can be an opportunity for the Christians too. Therefore, the Nepali Christianity should take
initiative to develop a suitable Theology, which would be relevant to Nepali context and
adequately address all the cultural, socioeconomic and political issues. The Nepali Church
cannot skip from addressing the poverty through her social involvement to penetrate wholistic
Gospel by joint effort of the local churches to achieve the common goal - the transformation of
the lives.

Addressing the Felt-Needs of Targeted People Groups

There are serious questions spinning in the minds of average people in Nepal. There are
overwhelming changes took placed over the last fifteen years. The Nepalese have been
personally experiencing with the constant political unrest, which brought result in socio-
economic destruction. They are under the life-threatening experiences of the violent Maoist
insurgency. The increasing poverty, unemployment, and unintentional development unavoidable
6
Victor Jack, Harold H Rowdon, ed. Churches in Partnership for Strengthening and Growth: Paper from
Partnership Consultation. Carlisle, UK: Partnership, 1993. p13.

3
problems have created frustrations in entire lives. They do not have enough courage to fight with
overwhelming frustration, which comes with the illicit drugs trade, epidemic diseases, girls
trafficking, and any sorts of criminal involvements. The people are already confused and
frustrated. And, talking of the targeted urban people, as they become more and more exposed to
these problems and introduced to the biblical values, they become more and more frustrated with
the current situation and current leadership, which is obviously very much traditional, closed
mindset, backwarded. The leadership indeed is lousy towards change. The young people are
crying out in their frustration for change. And, no wonder, there is the same cry in the heart of
youth even in the Church today. Thus there are two enemies before a Church to fight with, the
external and internal as well; the first one is to do with spiritual reformation, and second is to
address the current needs the people. First, in relation to the urban mission, the Christians are
urged to be sensitive to the God’s will that “not to be conformed to this world, but to be
transformed by the renewal of mind that may prove in their daily lives” (Romans 12:1-2). The
New Testament believers are to be socially and ethically sensitive.
They are not only to enjoy fellowship with God through their new spiritual birth, but also
reflect that fellowship in their relationship with those around them. They are to be the
people of heavenly wisdom, sweetness, tenderness, and deep compassion and concern for
the lost.7

Similarly, the Church should address the physical needs of the assimilated ones and
likewise the new mission field. She should provide the potential alternative to bring hope and life
to them.

Overcoming Fatalism and Dependency

Whenever talked about future, hope and the matured guidance from the leadership, it
seems to be frustration. Dor Bahadur Bista in his book8 states that there are particular traditional
values in Nepali society flowing straightly out of traditional leadership styles. He further offers
two traditional values that greatly affect Nepal's struggle for modernization which are fatalism
and dependency that insert a sense of being unable to do anything in every one of Nepali’s
minds. Fatalism is the perception that conveys that one has no personal control over his or her
own life circumstances. A fatalist believes that his future is determined through a divine or
powerful external agency.9 He confesses that everything is fated and cannot be changed, for him
optimism stands somewhere else. Instead he utters with deep breath, “Ke Garne!” which means,
“what can I do!” or I can do nothing.
Nepal is known as one of the poorest countries in the world. The poverty in these days
has become more of a means to live by. The both the political leaders and church leaders are
dependant on outsiders’ grants for every details of their works and lives. It seems to be easy to
work on the others’ plan, so happens even in the churches. Foreign aids and sponsorship has
bypassed the usage and require of local resources. And it has also supported dependency on the
outsiders’ grants, and worst thing is it has blindly supported traditional leadership trend, which
denies any sort of accountability to immediate countrymen.
7
Craig Ellison, ed. The Urban Mission. William B. Grand Rapids: Eerdamans Publishing Company, 1974.
p46.
8
Dor Bahadur Bista, Fatalism and Development: Nepal's struggle For Modernization. Hyderbad, India:
Orient Longman, 2001, pp 5-24
9
Ibid, p4.

4
Overcoming Favoritism and Nepotism
The leadership is considered as birthright, which has its basis on the monarchial system
of leadership. The entire society accepts the son as leader if his father has already taken part in
the leadership in level of social, political or religious activities. This tradition has avoided
knowledge and talents of any other person. The favoritism and nepotism blindly supports a
sonship or kinship types of relations, instead of supporting the training, education, skills and
other qualities of leadership. According to Steve Kaptain, as discusses in his paper, favoritism
was developed within concept of Hindu leadership as “an essential concept, which means to wait
upon, to serve, to appease, or to seek favor from a god.”10 It gives wrong priority in everything. It
requires to a potential person for leadership role should “please the leader” and seek his favor to
be appointed, and a junior leader should please the senior for any sort of benefits such as
promotion. Or comes the nepotism, which is recruiting people for leadership only from an inner
circle of relationship. This can be seen almost every churches in Nepal that senior pastor’s son, if
not his brother-in-law naturally becomes associate pastor or the youth leader. The core leadership
circle comprises normally by own relatives or of the spouses – an extended family seems to be
leading the whole church ministries. This requires family-men-relationship, not qualifications,
and this becomes the stumbling block to the church-multiplication, an excuse of ignoring the
urge of intentional discipleship multiplication movement.

Emphasis on Intentional Discipleship

There seems lack of motivation why discipleship is need in the body of Christ. A church
becomes traditional when the senior pastor begun to enjoy with the familiar faces of believers,
simply believers not “the disciples”. Here, the writer tries to put an importance on “disciples”
rather on the believers. The tendency of remaining “believer” is to satisfy oneself just being the
faithful weekly church-attendee. But the term “disciple” has significant meaning and its roles.
Here, the disciples will not just stay being believers, instead, they will grow further constantly
towards Christ’s fullness. Discipleship is aggressive and radical term, which gives full meaning
of being a “Christian”, a person who has Christ within. The task of witnessing is given to the
disciples. Ajith Fernando, a well-known youth minister and writer, sees problems in the
intentional discipleship development process. He writes,
There is a leadership crisis in society and in the church today, and I have seen this
especially as a youth worker. Young people have found their leaders to be unreliable in
terms of practicing what preach that they do not trust anyone anymore.11

It seems true in Nepal too. The average leaders are aiming nothing when it comes even
leaving legacy of their lifelong leadership contributions. Unless started from somewhere one
cannot go anywhere. Intentional discipleship is starting point for the capable leadership in
immediate future

10
Steve Kaptain, Developing Indigenous Leaders: A paper presented for discussion at the GYI forum in
Singapore, February 2006
11
Ajith Fernando. Jesus Driven Ministry. Crossway Books: Wheaton, Illinois, 2002, re-published in the
Philippines by Acts 29 Publishing, Tambo, Philippines, 2004. p155.

5
 Rick Warren sees a church as sleeping giant, if church ever wakes up, she is unstoppable
because no one and nothing can separate her from the ongoing relationship with God. And it is so
true, when Warren says,
If we can ever awaken and unleash the massive talent, resources, creativity and energy
lying dormant in the typical local church, Christianity will explode with growth at an
unprecedented rate.12

As MacNair states that the cry for discipleship stands on the base principles that “The
young Christian should be used for the Lord an every way possible.” 13 So, why discipleship
needed? Answer is simple; it is needed for the rapid process of leadership development. This is
certainly only one best foundation for the leadership development process. Unless one goes
under discipleship process, the foundational leadership traits from such person might be
expected. Though there are many suggestions for the leadership development, it is a key role of
the Holy Spirit. He appoints leaders with adequate gifts, guidance, disciplines and insights and
delegates authority to lead14. But there should be such environment that the Holy Spirit would be
working in the process, and depends how is the existing leadership open and ready to develop
emerging one for His service. So it comes to the discipleship again, therefore, emphasis should
be given repeatedly given in intentional discipleship, and it must be maintained as intentional
and continuous.

Championing for the Urban Mission

It is always interesting to know that God is much attentive to the cities. This would be
different topic of research if one asks why God is much interested to the cities. But Bible clearly
records that the Church and cities are always come together, particularly when it was
commissioned to plant Christ’s Church starting from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Jesus
when He first commissioned His disciples to the missions, He instructed them to seek for a “man
of peace” (Matthew 10:11). The rational is most of the city dwellers are man of peace to the rural
villages because of their circle of influences, professions and possessions, etc. The Apostles and
their mission always focused to the cities, where they could find many people from different
parts of the surrounding areas and preach the “new” message. The entire Church history tells that
the Church always kept transferring from cities to remote rural areas. It would not be overstating
that a church should be primarily started in the cities, and gradually to the remote provinces. The
missionaries in the first church planting mission team saw the importance of the city. Their
strategy was an urban strategy. They did not go to the small villages in Asia minor, but to the
cities of influence; when they had planted church in those cities, they said they accomplished the
assignment to that particular cities and went further to find new ones.15 Both the Church and the
city has similar hypothesis that both long for change and continually different attempts for

12
Rick Warren. The Purpose Driven Church: Growth without compromising your message & Mission.
Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 1995 (re-published in the Philippines by OMF Literature, 1998). P365.
13
Donald J. MacNair, The Birth, Care and Feeding of a Local Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,
1971. p.37.
14
Edgar J Elliston and J. Timothy Kauffman. Developing Leaders for Urban Ministries. New York: Peter
Lang, 1993. p78.
15
Paul Hiebert, and Eloise Hiebert Meneses. Incarnational Ministey: Planting Churches in Band, Tribal,
Peasant, and Urban Societies. Baker Books: Grand Rapids, 1995. p325.

6
growth. This hypothesis reminds that church planters must bear in mind that urban people are
primary stage of evangelism and church planting.
Roger S. Greenway writes, “Only when the whole Christ is lifted up as savior of sinners,
friends of the poor, humble servant and reigning Lord can the spiritual needs and deep
aspirations of urban people be met.”16 Urban mission is not something that comes as secondary
idea in the Great Commission. It requires Christians’ first attention, and their passion for
reaching the lost souls. Therefore it should be wholistic. Roger further writes,
Urban evangelism must take into account the life of the people it seeks to reach and serve
in gospel. Christ took people seriously when He walked this earth, and his disciples at
this time should follow His example. Those to whom we go are not impersonal ‘object’
of evangelism, but flesh-and-blood human beings. The gospel needs to be particularized
to meet each one’s needs.17

The mission is not inviting or gathering people into one place, but it is to reach them
where they are. And it is also not one time effort, but it is constant and frequent until the people
with their history, their race, their family connection, their religious ideologies, and the entire
person as whole would not be changed. Thus the emphasis must be given to the urban mission,
which should keep continue as the urbanization extends its coverage wider and wider.
Another most effective tools for championing the movement are the wholistic usage of
mass media. Considering this seriously, the evangelical Christians are far behind while comes the
mass media-supported evangelism, comparing to them the cults are champions. They have been
growing so fast, and there is only valid reason that they know the full strength of media. Because
of the frequent information through mass media, it would not be overstating that “coke” has
become familiar to more than 95% of world population, and “Christ”? Being involved in the
mass media sector for more than a decade, the researcher would like to borrow someone’s words
to support his urges. Here is quotable insight from Roger Greenway:
As Christians, we cannot disengage ourselves from the mass media or from the problems
with which they challenge us. This is true for three reasons. First, Christ commanded us
to preach the gospel to all men, and the media offer us tremendous instruments with
which to carry out that commission. Second, it is increasingly obvious that we are being
“evangelized” by our secular technical society far more than we are evangelizing for
Jesus Christ. In other words, we are letting the spirit of anti-Christ reap the benefits of the
media while we stand on the sidelines wringing our hands not knowing what to do.
Third, we shall have failed our Lord miserably if we do not capture the potentials of the
media to reach earth’s burgeoning population with the message of Jesus Christ. God
knew what He was doing when He gave us the media for our day and generation. While
we admit to our failures in the past we must harness the media’s potentials for the
future.18

Church Planting Movement for Kingdom Sake

What makes a church-planting movement go fast and aggressive? Answer is simple,
focus in prayers, trainings, seminars and workshops, missionary efforts and foreign aids. These
16
Roger S. Greenway ed. Discipling the City: Theological Reflections on Urban Mission. Baker Books:
Grand rapids, 1979. p98.
17
Ibid. p99; (emphasize added.)
18
Roger S. Greenway, ed. Guidelines for Urban Church Planting. Baker Books: Grand rapids, 1976. p.59.

7
are the most determinants to plant a new and multiplying church within a given time period. But
something need to be recognized urgently – the abysmal trend of church planting, which has
become usual practices in every attempt.
 Antiochian model of mission: Lack of motivation kills the spirit of both disciples making
and church planting. What happens in the traditional church to move them for a new
mission? It has to pass and overcome the resistance – in most cases, the resistance are
powerful in the leadership authority - they are the minority group, but influential ones who
will deny the proposal at face or delay with “yes” nodding head but with insincere heart.” 19
A genuine answer needed from the church leaders and the people who are involved in the
church-planting “program” if they are sincerely motivated by the love for God and the
people whom we are to serve. And in many cases reality remains out there – as the church
is being planted for the sake of “sending agency” not necessarily for Jesus. In the
designated mission field, the missionaries might not be working for “Kingdom agenda” but
the “sending agency’s agenda”. The sending agency’s agenda becomes more significant,
which has to do with a new church at any cost, no matter what consequences would fall on
the existing local church. In most cases in Nepal a new church is not planted in an
unchurched locale by identification of the existing local church, but from the identification
of the outsiders, and it is attempted by splitting an existing church or perhaps it is
unnecessarily added a number of a church just for the sake of church planting. More
important thing is the missionary should work for Christ’s sake. Apostle Paul is the best
example, who being one of the missionaries of sending church in Antioch never started an
“Antiochian” church where he went, rather he planted several local churches of their own
characteristics. The church of Antioch should be the example for all sending and covering
agencies in church planting movement. Paul had a basis to challenge his audience of his
epistles that is to imitate him as he was imitating Christ (Phil. 3:17). What if all of the
church planters follow Antiochian example! This certainly would stop unhealthy church
splits.
 Emphasis on native missions: No one would argue that evangelism which followed by
church planting should not come from outside. Gospel is intended to spread allover the
lands and even a little one must not be left without having opportunity of hearing the name
of the Savior – Jesus Christ the name over every names. And this cannot be aggressively
done if there were no outsiders’ efforts. The mission task still requires beautiful missionary
feet that bring the good news to the unreached places (Rom. 10:15). But question raises, up
to what time this will continue? If there will be no local initiatives to reach its extended
areas and enough people are not raised to accomplish this task then it is always outsiders’
business, which conveys that there is no intentional partnership with the local churches.
And, obviously mission and church planting always remains outsider’s agenda unless
priority will be given in the native missionary effort to reach the unreached, unsaved and
unchurched people of any given land. Native missions approach may include same-culture
or near-culture missionaries, thus every effort of out-cultured missionary attempts need to
be reduced.
 Establishing Mutual Accountability: In most new sites of the church-planting efforts the
workers are made dependants to the outside sources, as if they are working for the sending
agencies. Usual trend is the new converts or the opportunity seekers are appointed to be the
19
Lyle E. Schaller. Create Your Own Future! Alternatives for the Long-range Planning Committee.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1991. pp151-52.

8
 mission workers, who ultimately become accountable to the sending agencies. They are not
encouraged to seek assistance of existing local church nearby. That is the reason how
unaccountable leaders are raising in the new Christian communities that their
accountabilities goes to overseas or if not to the capital cities, and they do not have any
deals with other leaders in the next door, and are exerted from the local spiritual
accountabilities. Many leaders are fallen in corruption, and there is no mechanism to check,
correct and build them up. Accountability and financial transparency among the leadership
is desperately needed. A mechanism should be developed that would enforce mutual
accountability. Kingdom approach, which, is known as interdenominational way of
working together with other local Christian congregations. What if the local leaders are
enforced to be interdependent to each other locally and accountable similarly to their
fellow leaders at the next door!

Focus on a New Non-Traditional Church and Small Groups

One may question why so much emphasis on non-traditional church is placed? And the
answer is that there need too much efforts in making a dog cat than making a dog to better-
trained dog. Tendency of an established churches is to maintain the system and ways how it used
be done in the past, they hardly open their eyes to the new wave. Sometimes they need a mighty
intervention from the Lord. In the other hand, “New churches are able to be more flexible than
the established churches. New congregations seem to adjust more readily to the community than
existing churches do. Established congregation can become slaves to traditions. Meaning to do
well, they fail to see the connection between the church and community. When it occurs, it
signals the beginning of the downward spiral. For many congregations, maintaining tradition
may become more important than reaching people.”20 Suarez is right to say that it would cost
much for a little change in the traditional church but a little effort can bring a greater change in
newly established non-traditional church. Church growth is, indeed, not an adding, but a
multiplication, it has to be growing into multiplied smaller groups of active living communities
of faith in regard to grow a church larger, where the “First Love” can be maintained through
caring intimate fellowship in small-small groups. Most of the times a larger and traditionally
established church has difficulty to maintain intimate relationship among each believer in the
fellowship circles. Loving one another is the first mandate given to the “disciples”. Jesus said,
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
Victor Choudhrie radically emphasizing house-church – small groups of the disciples – writes,
“If there is strife and lack of mutual love, then it is not a church of true disciples.”21

Strategizing a Church Planting Movement

What is found among the young people is they are extremely open to see the things being
done in another way! This is simply a different way of how the leaders are establishing their own
traditions. A well-planed and strategically prepared guidance can go long way in the lives of new
emerging leaders. In consideration of the intentional discipleship multiplication to enhance
church-planting movement urban setting it specifically focus in working out the following
strategies:
20
Gustavo V. Suarez. Connections: Linking People and Principles for Dynamic Church Multiplication.
Baxter Press: Friendswood, Texas, 2004. p53.
21
Victor Choudhrie. Greet the Ekklesia! The Church in Your House. Victor Choudhrie: India, 9th Edition,
2003 (English reprint, July 2006). P246.

9
 A. Doing it another way. One will see how desperately the people want to do things
differently. They seem tired of seeing routinely repeated works and traditional styles.
Simply and obviously they want things differently. Most of the traditional approach of
church planting is limited within a prescriptive sense of job that the church planter has to
two things to do: find people preferably prospective members of the church to be planted
through evangelism, and letting to change their religion and be part of the local church
through assimilation or membership.22 This tradition apparently lacks the urgency of
intentional discipleship making agenda of the local church. There are several books
written without placing emphasis on discipleship. As discussed above, at least the new
approaches should be done in different ways: intentional disciple making, aggressively
moving towards new fields of missions and church planting, forming and multiplying the
small core groups of growing in mutual accountability, and actively bringing Christ’s
body outside of the church-building all are can be introduced as the different and non-
traditional approach of living out the Christina lives together.

B. Focusing on leadership qualities. The problems seen among the average leaders that they
are so much interested to build a secured circle of favoritism and nepotism. They trust
only immediate relatives though they might be the least qualified persons than other
people in the church. They are distrusting and doubtful to the emerging people who are
qualified and capable for the leadership responsibility. The challenge of favoritism and
nepotism is out there waiting in the road of developing capable leaders for intentional
discipleship multiplication movement. It would be leveled as being radical, but for the
sake of quality leadership one must initiate teach and practice an “interdependent”
leadership style. As Ted and Jack recommend, the Christianity is not living in
dependency, nor it is an independent, but it must be interdependent, which urges the
pastors and leaders pray together and develop intimate friendship and bonding trust
among them. They should establish a foundation for partnership that helps to become
accountable to each other locally and globally. They should enjoy greater effectiveness in
promoting gospel and make joint efforts on community transformation. They should lead
with ease and assurance of being supported by each other. And, they should supply
wisdom, efforts and resources for the common needs.23 But what types of leadership the
church today is waiting for? Every one has right answer to this question: we like to see
the Christ-like leaders whose ‘head’ [or wisdom], ‘heart’ [or Spirit-led character] and
‘hands’ [or skilful servant-leader] are functioning in harmony.24

C. Creating caring communities. Above-mentioned problems have particularly pushed the

city dwellers into individualistic and an isolated life styles. But the reality is every one is
craving for a caring community where they will find people who share with them sorrow
and joy together. Therefore it will be more strategic way to focus in training and
championing for the real biblical communitiship. Main identity of church that is growing
22
Gary McIntosh and Glen Martin, Finding Them, Keeping Them: Effective Strategies forEvangelism and
Assimilation in the Local Church. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992. p127-29.
23
Ted Haggard and Jack W. Hayford. Loving Your City into the Kingdom. Regal Books: Ventura, California,
1997. p36.
24
Rowland Forman, Jeff Jones, and Bruce Miller. The Leadership Baton: An Intentional Strategy for
Developing Leaders in Your Church. OMF Literature Inc.: Philippines, 2005. p62 (emphasizes added).

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 into a caring community through practicality of love and giving. One should recognize
the primary characteristic of the growing church which is cheerful giving. Greedy, selfish
and penny-pinching congregations are not typically growing congregations. Members of
growth congregations are cheerful givers, and God loves them as He said He would. Thus
the challenge is this, a new generation should be created as growing caring community
that enjoy in giving and serving the needy, and grow together in intimate fellowship.

D. Seeking the ways for easy transitioning. In Nepali context, leadership development
program is not an easy task at all. The leadership is considered not by appointment but by
birth, where comes the fatalism that one is born with the leadership mandate so he does
not come in accountability to his followers, which is not biblical leadership. There is
huge gap between leaders and the followers, and the leadership development process
becomes so unreal, unintentional and non-transparent. This convinces that multiplication
requires smooth and systematic transitioning of the roles and responsibilities. Thus there
should be a system for making a transparent leadership development process by seeking,
training and easing the team-led environment of leadership.

Transitioning: Passing the Baton of Leadership

It would become useless to talk about intentional discipleship multiplication and
developing leadership if there will not happen the transitioning, which is to move a church
towards the fulfillment of Christ’s Great Commission by reaching the unreached, saving the
unsaved and planting the church among the unchurched people. This is the matter of learning
from others’ experiences. And it only requires pure motive to serve for the gospel. In addition to
this a diligent and open heart to learn and apply in life-ministry is sufficient to live for the Lord.
In simple term, transitioning is to moving from one stage to a further-progressive stage, one form
to newer. For example, from a traditional church to a contemporary church, from a church of
routinely weekly gathering program driven to a purpose driven small group oriented and active
participatory church of the whole members of the congregation. It seeks a continual type of
process for growth. Probably the best book to study in this topic is Transitioning” by Don
Southerland, who suggests Christians to learn from the practitioners. In his own words,
When you want to learn how to do something, go to school on the folks who have proven
they know how to do it because they are doing it. Learn from the practitioners – not from
the theoreticians. Many claim to know how to do it. Those who really know how to do it
are doing.25

In moving forward to the progressiveness the solo-leadership is constantly standing as

difficult hindrance. But fact is one cannot do the ‘church’ alone. Team-led efforts in many ways
have resulted in success, and transitioning comes to happen sooner by the joint-hands of the
leaders.

Conclusion
Above addressed problems and potential issues are not just hypothetically arranged. The
Church is the body of Christ with all functioning organism. It must be active in fulfilling the
25
Dan Southerland. Transitioning: Leading Your Church Through Change. OMF Literature Inc.: Manila,
Philippines, 2000 (re-printed 2003). P28.

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Great Commission of her Master, which is measured in wholistic growth physical, social, mental
and spiritual. It should not be expected that the ordained leaders only do the ministries but all of
the Christians, whom called as very own Disciples of Christ. All the gifts of the Holy Spirit must
be practiced in the Church. And the practicing accordance to the gifts of the Holy spirit must be
in servitude-attitudes. All for God’s glory, there is nothing a worker or a leader might boast. But
this remains a romantic thought unless practiced it out even radically, which is discussed almost
throughout this paper. Thus the radical steps must be taken to revive the ‘Love for God and Love
for Neighbors’ restoring the strength of local churches helping them to be part in intentional
discipleship making and let them refocus their mission to the urban setting acknowledging that
the race of the urbanization will ultimately complete phasing out the every aspects of rural lives.

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Bibliographies

Bista, Dor Bahadur. Fatalism and Development: Nepal's struggle For Modernization. Orient
Longman: Hyderbad, India, 2001.

Choudhrie, Victor. Greet the Ekklesia! The Church in Your House. Victor Choudhrie: India, 9th
Edition, 2003 (English reprint, July 2006).

Ellison, Craig, ed. The Urban Mission. William B. Eerdamans Publishing Company: Grand
Rapids, 1974.

Elliston, Edgar J. and Kauffman, Timothy J. Developing Leaders for Urban Ministries. Peter
Lang: New York, 1993.

Fernando, Ajith. Jesus Driven Ministry. Crossway Books: Wheaton, Illinois, 2002, re-published
in the Philippines by Acts 29 Publishing, Tambo, Philippines, 2004.

Forman, Rowland; Jones, Jeff and Miller, Bruce. The Leadership Baton: An Intentional Strategy
for Developing Leaders in Your Church. OMF Literature Inc.: Philippines, 2005.

Greenway, Roger S. ed. Discipling the City: Theological Reflections on Urban Mission. Baker
Books: Grand Rapids, 1979.

, ed. Guidelines for Urban Church Planting. Baker Books: Grand Rapids, 1976.

Haggard, Ted and Hayford, Jack W. Loving Your City into the Kingdom. Regal Books: Ventura,
California, 1997.

Hiebert, Paul and Meneses, Eloise Hiebert. Incarnational Ministey: Planting Churches in Band,
Tribal, Peasant, and Urban Societies. Baker Books: Grand Rapids, 1995.

Jack, Victor and Rowdon, Harold H, ed. Churches in Partnership for Strengthening and Growth:
Paper from Partnership Consultation. Partnership: Carlisle, UK, 1993.

Kaptain, Steve. Developing Indigenous Leaders: A paper presented for discussion at the GYI
forum in Singapore, (Unpublished) February 2006.

MacNair, Donald J. The Birth, Care and Feeding of a Local Church. Baker Book House: Grand
Rapids. 1971.

McIntosh, Gary and Martin, Glen. Finding Them, Keeping Them: Effective Strategies for
Evangelism and Assimilation in the Local Church. Broadman & Holman Publishers:
Nashville, 1992.

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Schaller, Lyle E.. Create Your Own Future! Alternatives for the Long-range Planning
Committee. Abingdon Press: Nashville, 1991.

Southerland, Dan. Transitioning: Leading Your Church Through Change. OMF Literature Inc.:
Manila, Philippines, 2000 (re-printed 2003). P28.

Suarez, Gustavo V. Connections: Linking People and Principles for Dynamic Church
Multiplication. Baxter Press: Friendswood, Texas, 2004.

Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Church: Growth without compromising your message &
Mission. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 1995 (re-published in the Philippines by OMF
Literature, 1998).

Online Resources

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/article/Nepal/Population-in-Nepal/234.

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/article/Nepal/Population-in-Nepal/234.

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nepal_nepal_statistics.html.

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