A Nepalese Baptist pastor has launched a new ministry specifically to evangelise and provide support to the Nepalese community in the UK.

Pastor Tula Rai has already begun evangelising Nepalese people living in south east England and hopes to establish and encourage Nepalese Christian fellowships and churches across the UK, reports The Baptist Times.

Pastor Rai, an ex-Ghurka soldier and the former president of the Nepal Baptist Church Council, he now attends Anderson Baptist Church in Reading and is currently doing his new ministry work in partnership with mission organisation the International Nepal Fellowship (INF).

He was quoted by the newspaper as saying, "My vision is to locate and build relationships with Nepali people in the UK and bring the good news of Jesus to them.

"I will help to address their social, cultural and spiritual needs. It will be a huge challenge, but very exciting."

Pastor Rai said that his ministry began when he attended the Baptist World Congress in Birmingham in 2005. It was there, he said, that he received the call from God to perform this ministry.

He said, "One of the speakers was urging Asian leaders to send missionaries to the west - I knew God was saying that it was my time to go to witness in the west."

The Chief Executive of INF UK, John Reynolds welcomed Pastor Rai's ministry.

"INF has a new long-term vision to encourage and support Christian ministry among the worldwide Nepalese diaspora. The arrival of Tula marks the beginning of this exciting work in the UK," he was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

There are currently an estimated 100,000 Nepalese people living in the UK.