Pastor Mansing from servlife on Vimeo.

Hope is spreading in west Nepal. It is spreading in the lives of individuals, in churches and in communities. For ServLife Pastor Mansing, this hope came through God’s healing power. Several years ago, Mansing lay sick and homebound. Resistant to Christ, his spiritual condition matched his physical.

Amidst his illness, a group of Christians came to pray for his healing, and miraculously, God answered those prayers. But it wasn’t the miracle that brought Mansing to Christ. There was something else that gave him hope through the process – love. “They didn’t just pray,” Mansing reflects. “They did pray for me, but they also showed me love and really cared for me.”

The hope Mansing felt that day shaped him into the pastor he is now. It opened his eyes to God’s power in a way that overflows into his ministry. “That’s the reason I have the courage, passion and confidence to share the Lord in the same way,” he says. “To help people, not just by praying for the sick, but by encouraging people to build a life that is transformed through Christ.”

The hope of Christ cannot be contained only to Mansing’s life. It is spreading throughout west Nepal. When Mansing first arrived as a pastor in his village five years ago, only three families were following Christ. Today, there are over 300 believers spanning three villages.

Many of these new believers have experienced hope through healing in the same way Mansing did. Suffering from illness and demon possession, they first turned to witch doctors. When the witch doctors proved powerless, they came to the church to find healing and freedom. Just like with Mansing, God healed them. But also as in Mansing’s story, it was not the healing alone that drew them to Christ.

“When people begin seeing the power of God in the church transforming lives, they join us,” Mansing says. “They see that when others come to Christ, they are changed. Their lifestyles are changed.”

Now, a different kind of hope is spreading – the hope of shedding the shackles of poverty. ServLife’s micro-finance program, the HOPE Fund, is expanding to one of Mansing’s villages. Mansing is excited for what the program can do. “Most people are looking for an opportunity to overcome their poverty –and they can,” he said. “They have the ability to do something to bring about change, but in the initial stages, they don’t have the funds to get started. When we start the HOPE Fund in our village, I truly believe many people will have the opportunity for change…The HOPE Fund is putting the first seed in this area. Once people are given that seed, they can multiply it and overcome their poverty.”

Mansing’s ministry is a beautiful example of a truly holistic gospel: one that provides physical, spiritual and economic hope.

Want to know more about the HOPE Fund’s expansion? We’ll have a full story in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.