Copyright Bernard Gagnon |
The Evangelical Church of Vietnam (also known as Tin Lanh) just
finished celebrating 100 years of ministry in the Communist country. Its first
celebration of the achievement was held from June 14 through June 16
in Da Nang’s large indoor stadium and drew a crowd of about 15,000
people with an overflow of 1,000—its largest-ever gathering.
The event was the first of four celebrations to mark 100 years
since the Christian and Missionary Alliance began its outreach to
Vietnam. The second celebration was held in Hanoi on June 20 with
about 4,000 in attendance, the third was in Ho Chi Minh City on June
23 and 24, and the final celebration was held on July 2 at the
Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif.
The Da Nang celebration featured a parade of hundreds from 20
tribal groups, all with membership in the ECVN, along with a
480-member tribal choir that sang “The Halleluiah Chorus.”
Thousands of believers raised their hands, responding positively to a
call for total commitment to Christ, regardless of how difficult.
Delegates were challenged to reach Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Europe
or anywhere there are lost people.
Retired international worker Tom Stebbins preached an evangelistic
message in Vietnamese on the prodigal son to a packed house. Nearly
1,000 responded to become followers of Jesus Christ.
“[The Vietnam believers] want to be a force for Jesus and the
Kingdom advance to other nations. They are a sleeping giant in the
cause of missions,” U.S. Christian and Missionary Alliance
President Gary Benedict said, who attended the celebration.
The Christian and Missionary Alliance
is a worldwide family of Christians mobilized to fulfill the Great
Commission by living out the fullness of Jesus Christ in personal
experience and building His Church worldwide.
Today
there are 1.2 million believers in Vietnam, most of them part
of the Alliance. However, of the 71 people groups in Vietnam, 52
still have less than 2 percent who follow Jesus. About 40 million
people in North Vietnam do not know Christ.
As a Vietnam Veteran I am deeply interested in the developments and or progress among the Vietnamese, Hmong, and Montagnard Christians in Vietnam! As an U.S. Air Force serviceman in Phu Cat, (Central Highlands) South Vietnam, as well as Khorat, Thailand, I was aware of the presence of the C. and M. Alliance Church Missions in close proximity; but, unfortunately, at the time my interests lied elsewhere! I have followed a few accounts of the Vietnamese Christians and their struggles through the Voice of the Martyrs.