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Ray of Hope International Ministry (ROHI, also rendered Ray of Hope International, Inc.) is the largest Nepali-speaking Bhutanese-Nepali Pentecostal-evangelical organisation in the United States. The ministry operates a federated network of more than thirty chapter congregations across the country and one in Canada, all serving congregations whose membership is overwhelmingly drawn from former Bhutanese refugees and their American-born children. ROHI is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit under EIN 41-2156831, with IRS exemption granted in January 2014.^[1] Pastor Peter Rai has served as president since the inception of the ministry in 2013.^[2]

The ministry traces its theological and organisational lineage to the Apostolic Outreach Ministry founded by Pastor Jigmee Sonam Bhutia in northeast India in the late 1990s, which expanded into the Bhutanese refugee camps in eastern Nepal during the 2000s. As converted refugees were resettled to the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark from 2008 onwards, the in-camp churches transplanted with them; ROHI was formally constituted as the US-incorporated successor body, with its mission headquarters in Richmond, Virginia and substantial operations centred on Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.^[3]

ROHI is one of the principal nodes of the broader Bhutanese-Nepali church-planting movement in the United States, which Christianity Today reported in March 2023 had planted nearly 300 churches across the country since the start of resettlement.^[4] The ministry sits alongside the Bhutanese Nepalese Churches of America (BNCA), a national fellowship umbrella with which many ROHI congregations also affiliate.

Founding and incorporation

ROHI was incorporated in the United States in 2013 and granted IRS 501(c)(3) determination in January 2014, classified under NTEE code X20 (Religion-Related, Spiritual Development / Protestant).^[1] ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer holds no Form 990 filings for the organisation, suggesting it files only the Form 990-N postcard for entities with under US$50,000 in gross receipts; that classification is inconsistent with the size of its chapter network and is more likely a function of distributed congregational finances handled at the local level.

The IRS-listed address is in Denver, Colorado, while the ministry's own published US headquarters is in Henrico/Richmond, Virginia, with mission operations in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.^[1]^[3] The discrepancy reflects the fact that the IRS registered address records officer locations at incorporation rather than current operational headquarters.

Origin in the Apostolic Outreach Ministry

According to the ministry's own published history, Pastor Jigmee Sonam Bhutia began missionary work in northeast India after Bible school. In 2005 he relocated to Siliguri, India, where he established a church that initially gathered "with only a few people under the shade of a tree." A refugee named Stephen brought Pastor Sonam to the Timai Bhutanese Refugee Camp in eastern Nepal, where, in the ministry's account, "thousands of the refugee Hindus and Buddhists responded to the call of God." Pastor Kailash Chettri was sent as missionary to lead the camp church, with leadership later passing to Pastor Peter Rai. Camp churches were established at Shreejana Basti (November 2007) and Beldangi.^[3]

As resettlement scattered camp converts across receiving countries, the original Apostolic Outreach Ministry was reconstituted as Ray of Hope International, with the US arm taking the lead in coordinating the diaspora network of congregations.

Leadership

The ministry's published US team comprises:

Pastor Peter Rai — President, since 2013 inception. Described in ministry materials as a former school headmaster.^[2]
Pastor Parlad Gurung — Executive Director of the ROHI Global Mission Agency since December 2020.
Shyam Rai — Secretary.
Chandra Gurung — Assistant Secretary.
Chandra Pradhan — Treasurer.
Department heads: Mon Gurung (Wedding and Counselling), Chandra Gurung (Conflict Resolution), Mani Raj Gurung (Evangelism and Visitation), Barnabas Gajmer (Prayer Coordinator), Raku Gurung and Lokesh Gurung (Children's Ministry), Abi Joel Dhakal (Worship Leader), Prem Gurung (MAMS Director).
Pastors at chapter congregations include Simon Tamang (Scranton, Pennsylvania) and Barnabas Gajmer (Newville, Pennsylvania).^[2]

Chapter network

ROHI's published locations page lists chapter congregations in 32 cities in the United States and Canada:^[5]

Northeast (United States): Westfield (Massachusetts); Rochester and Warsaw (New York); Annville, Mechanicsburg, Carlisle, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Philadelphia, Lebanon and Erie (Pennsylvania).
South: Atlanta (Georgia); Richmond (Virginia); High Point (North Carolina); Louisville (Kentucky).
Midwest: Columbus, Akron, Cincinnati and Reynoldsburg (Ohio); Aurora (Illinois); Fargo (North Dakota); Grand Rapids (Michigan); Des Moines (Iowa).
West: Sacramento (California); Aurora (Colorado); Twin Falls (Idaho).
Canada: London, Ontario.

Annual convention and media ministry

ROHI hosts an annual national convention. The 14th annual ROHI Convention is scheduled for 23–24 May 2026 in Columbus, Ohio, drawing pastors and members of the chapter network for joint worship, leadership training and youth programming.^[5] The ministry operates an in-house media arm branded ROH Production, and its programming has included a faith-based Nepali-language film referenced in ministry communications as Cafe Nepali.^[6] A youth-formation programme is run under the MAMS banner.

Place in the broader movement

Christianity Today's March 2023 reporting on Bhutanese-Nepali Christianity in the United States identified ROHI as one of the prominent church-planting bodies within a movement that has planted nearly 300 churches since 2008. The article noted that the broader phenomenon represents one of the most significant refugee-driven church-planting movements in recent American religious history. According to Pastor Bhadra Rai of the BNCA, approximately 60 per cent of Bhutanese-Nepali Christians in the United States were converted in the camps before resettlement, with the remainder converting after arrival.^[4]

Ray of Hope International Ministry