God’s Word spreading through Nepal and Pakistan
Filed Under: BWM, MLP, Multi-Language Publications, Nepal, Pakistan, World Missions
World Missions representatives Rev. Dan Koelpin and Rev. Harold Essmann returned on Oct. 22 from Nepal and Pakistan, where they gathered information to help the World Missions board develop a strategic plan for outreach to these countries. They also estimated how much funding is needed to continue WELS-sponsored efforts in this region, where thousands are being served with God’s Word through literature.
“In less-accessible countries [like Pakistan and Nepal], we can’t get in there with missionaries, and these people need the hope of the gospel,” says Koelpin, administrator of WELS World Missions. 
“They often don’t have opportunities for education and they don’t have Christian materials with which to train and teach in their own language.”
To fill the void, WELS Multi-Language Publications translated Christian materials into Urdu and Nepali, and sent more than 30,000 pieces of literature to Pakistan and Nepal. Currently, more than 9,000 people in Pakistan are enrolled in a Bible correspondence course, and more than 2,300 people are being served by Bible teaching workshops in Nepal. “All this is just within the last two years,” says Koelpin. “And I think this is one of those [scenarios] where we may be able to expand these programs at a comparatively smaller cost.”
Although it is more difficult to plant churches in countries where WELS cannot have missionaries or seminaries, “I think the future looks very good. These people are showing tremendous courage to stand up for their faith,” says Koelpin. “We’re getting the gospel out, and that’s what really counts.”
For more information about these countries, visit www.wels.net/jump/pakistan and www.wels.net/jump/nepal. For an update on all WELS mission fields, visit www.wels.net/jump/bwm-update.
