Vietnam

  • Repression of religious, economic and political freedoms continues, but thank God that the Church has grown and continues to grow steadily, although it is still small.
  • Pray that the government may give a free reign to pastors and believers in the registered churches to expand their Christian activities and lift the harsh restrictions on religious activities.
  • Unregistered churches are harried by police, with meetings frequently broken up and leaders arrested. Pray for pastors and believers.
  • Pray for unity between leaders of registered and unregistered churches.
  • Leadership training is urgently needed. Many pastors are old, and younger churches are often led by those with little opportunity for theological study. They are therefore susceptible to error or bias in their teaching.
  • Pray for more study materials, theological books and commentaries to be imported. Christian literature production is strictly monitored.
  • Bibles are printed and available for purchase in Vietnam. Pray for increased production and distribution.
  • Pray that suitable people will take up the opportunities to work in Vietnam in development and professional work.
  • Many sections of the community and numerous ethnic groups remain scarcely touched by the gospel. Pray for:
    • The Muslim Cham and Buddhist Khmer of the Mekong Delta.
    • The northern ethnic minorities, which have been beyond the reach of missionaries for 50 years because of war and Communism. A few of these groups are now hearing and responding to the gospel in small numbers. The Hmong are particularly responsive. In 1975 there were no known believers. Today, thanks mainly to their response to Christian radio broadcasts, over 150,000 Hmong believe.
    • Christian radio programmes have been remarkable in their scope and impact. Pray for the provision and preservation of staff and freedom to broadcast so that they might continue with these effective programmes.
    • Government leaders and officials.