A surge in COVID-19 cases in Nepal has taken the lives of more than 130 pastors, leaving churches leaderless and struggling to find a ‘second-in-line’.

Pastor, theologian and leader of the Janajagaran Party Nepal, BP Khanal told Christianity Today that pastors were dying almost every day at the height of the second COVID-19 wave in May, which washed over the country after causing devastation in India.

His records indicate that more than 500 pastors and their families contracted the virus. In multiple cases, the lives of fathers and sons who led churches together were lost.

Chairman of the National Church Fellowship of Nepal, Hanok Tamang added that many churches face financial difficulty due to income

loss as a result of the pandemic in addition to a vacuum in leadership. Meanwhile, the country is already bracing for a third wave, Tamang told Christianity Today. “We need to pray for Nepal. We really need to see Nepal recovered and restored again.”

Author – Ramona Humphreys