KATHMANDU, Nepal (BP) -- Elderly women walk clockwise around a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. Their hands bear sculpted calluses earned from years of rolling prayer beads between their thumbs and index fingers.

Tibetans are known for their resistance to the Gospel, International Mission Board representative Tal Bratcher* tells those who've come to work with him.

Before they return home, seven recent high school graduates will see some of the spiritual calluses soften when they tell how God softened hard spots in their own hearts.

The students came from Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Mo., to help Bratcher and his wife Janice* start churches in two Tibetan areas of Kathmandu.

The Bratchers are responsible for planting churches among 10 Tibetan unengaged and unreached people groups in Nepal. Unreached and unengaged people groups have never heard the Gospel, have no one actively spreading the Good News and have no known believers. Many of these people groups in Nepal live tucked away in the Himalayas.

It's a daunting task, and that's why the Bratchers are investing in national believers and short-term teams like Concord to help them fulfill the Great Commission among the Tibetans of Nepal.

English, Jesus & Coffee

Though the students had just graduated from high school, the Bratchers had big plans for their venture to Nepal.

"Really try not to put God in a box and feel like He won't be able to use you because you're young, or because you don't have any missions experience or don't know the language," Bratcher told the students during their orientation.

Their ministry time centered on English clubs, scheduled times where anyone could come practice English for free. Tibetan and Nepalese children learn English in school but rarely have the chance to practice.

Concord students spent time walking and prayerwalking through neighborhoods trying to start conversations. Everyone the students met received an invitation to come practice English for an hour in a local coffee shop.

This allowed the students to meet one-on-one with Tibetans and build relationships in order to share the Gospel. In the afternoons, they hosted sports camps and shared the Gospel at the end of the camps. Read More