Gary Miller Ministry: 12.18.2011

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Today We Join With Operation World in Praying for Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Asia

Vietnam

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Asia

Geography

Area: 331,653 sq km

Long, narrow country occupying the entire eastern and southern coastline of Indochina.

Population: 89,028,741 Annual Growth: 1.15%

Capital: Hanoi

Urbanites: 28.8%

HDI Rank: 116 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 114 (56% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Vietnamese Languages:106 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Buddhist

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	8,395,410	9.43	2.3
Evangelicals	1,576,889	1.8	2.6
Buddhist	46,722,283	52.48

Answer to Prayer

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 are three main groups where church growth is occurring:
      Among the mountain tribal peoples of central and southern Vietnam. Praise God for preservation and growth — by some estimates as great as nine-fold increase in just over thirty years! This occurred despite cruel persecution on the part of the government.
      Among the Hmong and other minority peoples of Northern Vietnam. The 1990s saw the Church grow rapidly among the Hmong from no believers in 1988 to estimates of up to 400,000 just two decades later, catalyzed by FEBC radio broadcasting. House church movements among Northern peoples have spread.
      Among the ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) themselves. Although much more modest among this group, clear church growth is happening, in the formally recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam [which actually consists of two separate organizations, one in the north EVCN(N) and one in the south EVCN(S)], in other, smaller but registered denominations and in the unregistered church networks as well. A Christmas gathering and service in Ho Chi Minh City in 2009 attracted 40,000 people.

For an additional Answer to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

Challenge for Prayer

One of the few Communist nations in the 21st Century, Vietnam faces new challenges. Repression of all types of freedom continues, but at the same time, social ills are on the rise. Drug addiction, AIDS, prostitution and exploitation of children are all too common. The land has seen great violence. Division and mistrust have been effective tools in the enemy’s hands in recent generations. Pray that the ideological and moral darkness over this nation might be banished by the light of the gospel.
For an additional 9 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.