Vietnam

Pray For Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the few Communist nations left in the world. Although it has employed capitalistic economic principles to fuel much recent growth, churches still suffer with hidden repression and social problems such as drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, and the exploitation of women and children are growing. The deepest spiritual loyalty in Vietnam is to worship of ancestors, even more than to Communism, and even more than to the mixture of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism traditionally practiced by Vietnamese. Some might argue that rapidly emerging materialism is now the greatest passion of most Vietnamese. Christians face hard questions as they try to handle these issues biblically. Pray that the light of the gospel will banish all darkness and provide hope, purpose, and love to all those who are lost.

Key Stats

Continent: Asia

Capital: Hanoi

Population: 98,168,829

Urban Population: 38.1%

Pop. Under 15 Yrs: 23.2%

Primary Language: Vietnamese

Languages: 106

Literacy Rate: 94%

Christian: 9.4%

Evangelical: 1.8%

Largest Religion: Buddhist (52.5%)

People Groups: 119

Least Reached: 67

Unevangelized: 27%

A growing, witnessing Church is emerging from years of persecution. Catholic and Protestant, new expression and old, a significant turning to God is occurring in different places, in both registered and unregistered churches, and among different people groups. The Vietnamese diaspora is also seeing many become believers. These converts then bring the gospel back to Vietnam with them. There is even a fast-growing missionary vision spreading among the churches of Vietnam! Pray for the Holy Spirit to keep spiritual passion, all for the maturation of the Vietnamese Church.

Suffering and perseverance have characterized the story of Christianity in Vietnam, as well as great faith. The situation since 2005 has seen some marked improvement, yet government harassment, duplicity, discrimination and subtle persecution continues to affect Catholics and Protestants today. Praise God that, through it all, the Church has persevered and grown.

General prayer topics for Vietnam:

  • Registration of churches. Beyond the two EVCN groups, seven additional denominations have been granted official registration – a governmental requirement for operation in Vietnam – yet most remain unregistered. Registration remains a difficult and divisive issue for the Church. Registered churches battle government pressure to compromise and conform to strict regulations. Unregistered churches are harassed by the police, with meetings sometimes still broken up and leaders detained and questioned. There are tensions among church leaders in both groups. Pray for a solution to this issue that best unifies and builds the Church of Vietnam.
  • Meeting places. Appropriate locations for church meetings are difficult to find. Even registered churches find permits to build difficult to acquire. Unregistered churches likewise struggle to find venues for large celebration meetings. In the past, the government seized many church properties. Faithful believers are gathering at houses, centers, and even remodeling houses to accommodate growing worshippers agendas to be broken and God’s glory to be paramount.
  • Unity. While in one sense, the persecution has drawn Christians together, the somewhat chaotic situation also serves to divide. The house church movement has at least 70 different streams. The early house church groups split off from the ECVN(S), the largest Protestant group, historically connected with the CMA. The government often plays these groups against one another. Pray for the essential unity of the Church and that the enemy might not drive a wedge between believers.
  • Expatriate influence. A small number of foreign denominations and ministries, keen to be associated with God’s workings in Vietnam, are effectively buying the affiliation of Vietnamese congregations. This introduces imported divisions, materialistic motivations and dependency. It is in deep contrast to the autonomous and indigenous expressions of Christian faith that have been normative until recently. The desire to be able to proclaim large “growth” numbers by expat groups is as problematic as the willingness of nationals to sell their affiliation to multiple buyers. Pray for integrity and accountability to be practiced by all. 

SRC International’s Prayer for Vietam

Truth is unchanging. However, traditional Church based mission need much help through creative missional approaches. Creative Access Missions, such as, relief and development, business as mission, medicine and education as mission, and Christian professionals have contributed greatly. Peoples are reconciled in the Lord and the Church is growing. With less than 1% of evangelical churches in the North, local churches need the missions who would continue to sow, tilt and lay foundation.

Please pray for our focused ministries in medical and educational fields with close local church partnership.

  1. Grateful that SRCI is instrument in pioneering and reconciling missions in VN.
  2. Pray for faithful leadership to emerge from the new believers.
  3. Pray that we will be able to meet the growing demand of Christian education and medical mission among the new believers. Pray for the establishment of hospices and mission schools.
  4. Pray that cross-cultural missionaries can be nurtured and sent.
  5. Pray that all members remain faithful during the challenging pandemic period