Bhoj Raj Bhatta was born and brought up in a traditional Hindu family in the far-western Nepal. Questions about life and destiny were part of his childhood and by the time he was 11, he began his search in religious literature, temples, shrines and pilgrimage to holy places in India. But the inner quest for meaning and purpose in life continued to elude him. At the age of 16 he was introduced to communism (his uncle¡¯s influence) and believed that he found what he was looking for, but by the time he was 18, the inner emptiness was so real that he lost confidence in communism as a solution. It was during this time that he read two little booklets (A God Who Answers by Fire, Friend of All) which introduced him to a person named Jesus Christ. These two books finally took him to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ and for the first time he felt a release from that inner emptiness. After accepting Christ as his personal savior who not only saved him from his sin, but also from the loss of purpose and meaning in life, he dedicated his life for the service of the kingdom of God. After high school, he went to a Pentecostal Bible College in South India for theological studies. There he met his wife Boisi Thangeo who came from the Indian state of Manipur for her Master of Divinity. She had received her Bachelor of Theology from Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Dehera Doon. They both were married in January 1993 and started the ministry in Kathmandu. Their only son Martin Bhojraj was born in 7th November, 1993. Pastor Bhatta received his B. Th. from SABC, Bangalore, M. Div. from TTGST, Seoul, Th. M. From ALU, Daejeon and is now currently a Ph. D. Candidate at ALU. Right after his baptism, at the age of 18, Pastor Bhatta began as a volunteer evangelist with Taranager Church in Dhangadi. After one and half year, the Lord led him into the full time ministry in Calvary AG Church under the godly and humble leadership of Pastor Joseph Shrestha who imparted a lasting influence in the young preacher. Pastor Bhatta remained associated with Calvary Church until the year 1991 when he was assigned to teach in a Bible School in Kathmandu. After two and a half years with the Bible School and a church, Pastor Bhatta began his pioneering work in the northeastern part of Kathmandu, and finally by 1996, the pioneering work had taken the shape of a Church and was then named Hope Christian Church. In his 23+ years of ministry, Pastor Bhatta has touched many lives through his preaching, teaching and mentoring ministry.
Pastor Ganesh Tamang:
Pastor Ganesh Tamang was born and brought up in Buddhist background, but met the Lord in his young age. He left his village as a 13 years old boy and came to Kathmandu where he struggled to make a living. But because he found the Lord, he was able to endure all hardship. He worked in the day time and studied at night. He finished high school, finished a two years Bible School course,and went on to graduate from a university with Bachelor of Commerce degree. Later he served that Bible School (NBA) for 13 years in various capacity from bell boy to the executive administrator. The Lord opened door for him to complete Bachelor of Divinity from United Theological College (UTC), Bangalore, India. From his young age he was actively involved in various youth ministry in Kathmandu (Church of God, Putali Sadak Church). He has served Hope Church from 1999 and after returning from India he took the full responsibility of leading Hope Church and pastor Bhatta was able to go for his PhD work along with his family. Pastor Ganesh is now once again back to NIT as the principal and at the same time serves Hope Church. He is married with Hethem and they have one son, Nishan. Under the leadership of the pastor, the Church has other leaders who function as the members of the governing committee.
Government of 12 Under the leadership of the senior pastor there are other 24 leaders; 12 men and 12 ladies who are the heart of what we do at Hope Church. The Lord has been faithful in using us in spite of our weakness in many areas. We want to train every believer to be a soul winner and a disciple maker because no one is an extra in the kingdom of God. God is using men and women at Hope Church to win our city and nation for the Lord.
Branch Church Pastors:
Hari Adhikari Hari has his own story of God's grace and mercy. His quest for life's meaning led him to do things that other ordinary people would not imagine. But when the going was becoming tough, someone from our church shared with him the gospel of Jesus Christ. He gave his life to God and decided to serve the Lord for the rest of his life. In the year 2003, Hope Church sent him to Sindhuli district to lead a newly pioneered church. Sindhuli being one of the most Maoist affected area, Hari went through so many hardships and persecution. But the Lord was with him in every circumstance, and today Hari is leading that congregation. He is married and has a son. He has a dream of starting many new churches in and around Sindhuli district.
Gyan Bahadur Tamang Brother Tamang is another disciple who accepted the Lord from Hope Church. He finished a three years Bible School and then went to another area of Sindhuli district where he has pioneered a new church. He is a dynamic and enthusiastic young man with many big dreams. He is also involved with a process of uniting the divided christian community in that district. Christainity in Nepal is not better than in any other nation. We fight, criticize, and oppose each other for petty things. Unity is what we need but lack so very much.
Dilip Shrestha: Dilip was the first missionary sent from Hope Church to pioneer new church in his home village. He was greatly used by the Lord and many were saved under his ministry. But the devil tried to destroy this brother and the church by the influence of a false teacher. But today, we thank God that the false teacher has to run for his life from the village and our brother has also realized his foolishness to have followed him. The congregation is now growing and the Lord has begun to show mercy to them. We are also glad to have won the victory by winning this brother back into our fellowship.
Prayer Partners and Well-wishers Ever since Pastor Bhatta became a Christian he lost whatever relationship he had with his earthly family. He always held on to the words Jesus spoke in Mark 10:28-30, but the Christian journey for him had been at times very difficult, lonely and discouraging. But over the years the Lord has brought so many precious people of God who have stood with him as fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. Starting from Christian friends from the farwestern Nepal (Dhangadi) to India, Korea and in the west, so many have played various roles in making this ministry become a reality. Truly, Christian faith is a universal family. Hope Church's desire is to work together with all other believers in various churches and denominations. Our only prayer is that we do our service to God in an honest and godly ways. As Paul says that some are called to plow the field, some are called to sow the seed, some are called to water it and others are called to harvest. We need each others and Hope Church wishes to be a help to another church in anyway possible. |