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Mennonite Church in Vietnam Holds First Church Conference

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, July 28, 2003 — Representatives of Mennonite churches from many areas of Vietnam gathered in Ho Chi Minh City July 27 and 28 for fellowship and to establish a united Mennonite church. They affirmed a confession of faith and chose a provisional church leadership group.

The conference was organized primarily by two pastors, Nguyen Quang Trung and Nguyen Hong Quang. Trung has been serving as leader of the Mennonite Church in Binh Thanh District of Ho Chi Minh City, a church established in the 1960s. Their church properties were confiscated after the 1975 revolution; the church has recently rented a property where they are again meeting. Quang, leading an independent house fellowship for many years, identified as a Mennonite Christian in 1998, and leads the church which meets primarily in District Two of Ho Chi Minh City.

These leaders identified several issues prompting the formation of a Mennonite Church structure. Until now there has been no body uniting the several Mennonite congregational groups. Uniting the groups will enable pastors to work together. It will also facilitate further church development. The church also plans to prepare a church constitution and to seek to register the Mennonite church with the authorities and to petition the government for the return of church properties. A united church will also simplify association with international Mennonite bodies. The church plans to request formal membership in the Mennonite World Conference.

A Vietnamese translation of the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, adopted by the Mennonite churches of Canada and the United States in the mid-Nineties, has been a catalyst in Mennonite church development in Vietnam. Trung has shared this document with the local church and with government officials. Visiting Vietnamese Mennonite pastors in 1998 gave this Confession to Quang, and he has also circulated this widely, both to church and government personnel. Other independent Christian church leaders and house fellowships have since declared their desire to be part of the Mennonite movement.

The twenty-some official delegates came from churches in several provinces as well as from Ho Chi Minh City. This was the first opportunity many of the leaders had to meet persons from other churches. The planners also invited several international representatives.

The conference began with the Sunday morning worship service. In the afternoon session, the conference affirmed the confession of faith and a provisional leadership team. Trung was chosen president and Quang vice-president and general secretary. Trung declared, "There is now no pre-1975 church and a post-1975 Mennonite Church. There is one united Mennonite Church."

The Monday fellowship gathering met in a city park. Persons shared from their life experiences and discussed what it means to live as Mennonite Christians in Vietnam today. Emphasizing both faith (dao) and life (doi), Mrs. Pham Thi Kim Huong, leader of a church of mostly older widows in Dong Nai, summarized the Christian life as "worshiping the Lord and serving others."

— MWC Release