On Monday 18th October at 5 p.m., the inaugural service of God’s Vision Nepal Church was held at St. Aidan Church in Croydon. I first came to know about this church when I was invited to attend their monthly evening service on Sunday 9th February last year. It was a rainy evening, and about 10 members had gathered at Pastor Govinda’s home. The service began with praise, and Elder Anil, who came with me, delivered the sermon. Afterward, they asked me to lead the Communion. As I had always believed and confessed, I proclaimed that Communion is a time of covenant renewal, a time to receive healing, deliverance, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. During the Communion, I laid hands on each person and prayed, and the presence of God was truly there.
From that point on, the Nepalese members began attending God’s Vision Church in Wimbledon, and finally, for the inaugural service they had been prayerfully preparing, they wanted to invite me as a special guest. They even changed their originally planned date to fit my schedule, so it was held this week. From our church, Youth Pastor Wooil Park, Deacon Jiwon Choi, Deacon Sungwon Lee, and Deacon Jinkyung Ko joined us, along with my wife and our youngest son, Yeojoon.
Everyone greeted us warmly, and including pastors and members who had travelled from places like Manchester to celebrate, around 40 people gathered in the small worship hall. They told me this place was first used at last year’s Christmas service and that they would now be holding weekly services there. The worship lasted more than two hours. Everything was conducted in Nepali, but thankfully Elder Anil interpreted for me. I had previously attended services at two other Nepalese churches in different areas, but since there was no proper interpreter then, I could not understand what was being said—yet I was still joyful, because it was a diaspora church I loved.
At the end of the service, there was a time to welcome the guests. They placed traditional scarves and hats on our members and me as honoured guests. Finally, they asked me to give congratulatory remarks, cut the commemorative cake, and offer a blessing prayer. In that moment, I found myself praying earnestly and sincerely for the church. Afterwards, we shared fellowship over a meal they had carefully prepared.
While cleaning up after the meal, they brought to me a man who had attended the service. He told me that during worship he had seen, in a vision, Jesus dressed in white. Although he had attended Catholic school and knew the Bible, he said he had not believed in Jesus. So I prayed with him personally to receive Jesus, and I blessed him. I felt that God had allowed this as a sign of His presence with the church, showing it through such an event at the inauguration service.
Later that week, I received a message of thanks from Pastor Govinda. He told me that when he came to the UK as a student three years ago, he had been sent out as a missionary from his church in Nepal. During that time, God allowed him to meet me and our church, so that at this inauguration service he could receive blessing and anointing, and also be given an important spiritual protector for his ministry. He said that even when they were choosing the church name, they considered using the name of our church, because they think of us as family. Looking ahead, I hope that our members will embrace foreign believers and diaspora churches with the hearts of mothers and fathers—welcoming them and serving them well. I too see myself as small, but I wish for us to become the hands and feet of the Lord, strengthening them as much as we can.
