Nepal arrests 24 South Korean Christians
The detainees were attending a meeting of Nepal New Covenant College, which has taught theology to Nepali believers since 2013.
Police in Nepal arrested 24 South Korean Christians on October 9 in Morang district. International Christian Concern reported it, citing complaints of illegal religious teaching, training and promotion.
What we know about the arrest
The detention happened during a meeting at Nepal New Covenant College (NNCC), a center that has offered theological courses to Nepali Christians since 2013. The information comes from sources in Nepal and South Korea, according to the organization.
Sarad KC, director of NNCC, told UCA News that the visitors were interacting with believers inside the Bible college and that they were not preaching or sharing the gospel in public with the intention of winning converts.
«Exaggeration helps no one and wears down the credibility of Christian witness.»
A Bible college trains believers to serve in their local churches: teaching, accompanying and discipling. The complaint, however, presents that everyday task as an illegal activity.
The arrest fuels fears of state-directed hostility against Christians, International Christian Concern warned.
Nepal, a Hindu country with a growing church
Nepal is majority Hindu: more than 80% of its population follows that religion. The Christian community numbers around 1.5 million people, about 5% of the total, and is one of the fastest-growing.
Until recently, Nepali believers were more protected from state discrimination than their neighbors in India. Christians in India have faced that kind of pressure for years, and that reality is slowly crossing the border, according to International Christian Concern.
Several reports point to funds sent from Hindu nationalists governing in India to Nepal, with an increase in violence against religious minorities. Proximity to India would not be the only explanation for the change, according to those reports.
Christians, Muslims and Buddhists have seen their temples, their ceremonies and specific individuals attacked, according to those same reports.
South Korean missionaries under pressure
The Morang case is not isolated. International Christian Concern reports more arrests, detentions and discrimination against South Korean Christians and missionaries in Nepal, Russia and other countries.
"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12, ESV). The verse does not describe an accident: it speaks of something foreseeable for anyone who takes their faith seriously.
There are concrete steps you can take. Pray for the 24 detainees, for their families and for the Nepali church, which continues to meet and teach. When you see a news story about persecution, check that the number, place and date come from an outlet that verifies its facts.
You can ask your youth group to take a moment to pray for believers in Nepal during the week. Exaggeration helps no one and wears down the credibility of Christian witness. And if the issue moves you, ask yourself how you would respond if following Jesus cost you more than an opinion on social media.
