Around the years of 1972 - 1973, Pastor N. Pheko who is the founder of Operation UP, worked with Pastor R.Bonnke in the then "Bicycle Evangelism" which was an attempt to reach the people in the mountains with the gospel.In retrospect this is where the burden for the unreached people was first born. This burden became even heavier during his involvment with the Maluti Mountain Missions around the years of 1985 - 1987.

He underwent training in 'Africa School of Missions' in White River in 1987 - 1989 and in 1995 he was one of the Lesotho delegations to GCOWE in Korea, from whence the challenge and the burden became unbearable and felt led of the Lord to pioneer a Missions movement in Lesotho and to mobilise the Church into missions. Operation UP is a sequel of that. Operation UP started in 1990 at Qachasnek, but was suspended for a while due to lack of resources. It was resumed in 1997 as a 7 month short term outreach. From whence it grew from strength to strength.

Since its inception about 8 churches have been planted in the mountains. Some of these churches have sites and buildings and some do not. They have all been handed over to the A.F.M. Church Mohalalitoe Assembly, which has willingly accepted and assumed responsibility over them. Numerous people have been exposed to the challenge of missions through mission conferences and seminars organized by Operation UP, and short-term missions outreaches both within Lesotho and cross-culturally. Many of these people have gone into various fulltime Christian ministries in Lesotho and elsewhere.

Through its Missions Training School, Eugene Casalis Missions Training Centre, a number of young people have been trained in missions and have proceeded into fulltime ministry with various denominations within Lesotho. Operation UP was registered in Lesotho as non-profit making organization in 2001 and is led by an executive committee composed of people from various denominations and missions organization in Lesotho.