What I Learned From the Vietnamese Christians
By Steve Belonger, January 2003

I have long had an interest in missions to Asia. It began when I was in college and I read God’s Man in China, the story of Hudson Taylor, missionary to China. Several aspects of this book intrigued me. The first such aspect was the sacrifice required of a full-time missionary. Secondly, I saw that the same gospel message works the same effects in all parts of the world. And lastly, I saw that God can be, and often is, more active in other countries than He is in the United States. The opportunity to smuggle Bibles to Vietnam allowed me to get a glimpse of two of the above aspects of the book that intrigued me. I got to see the powerful effects of the gospel in another land and to hear how God’s Spirit was actively converting hearts and strengthening believers to stand firm for our most holy faith. I’d like to share a few of the lessons God taught me.

The Word of God is more important than our comfort
The primary purpose of the trip was to smuggle Hmong language Bibles to the Hmong pastors. Several people asked me the legitimate question, "Aren’t you afraid of what will happen to you?" Of course, any Christian going to a Communist country to deliver "subversive literature" would have this concern enter his/her mind. But that concern is far down the list of what is important. When the goal is to get the Word of God into the hands of people begging to possess it, personal comfort and safety cease to be an issue. There are villages of people in Vietnam waiting for copies of the Scriptures because there is only one copy for all the families in the village. They might have to wait weeks to get their turn to read Isaiah 53, the Beatitudes, Romans 8, or the Exodus from Egypt. The Hmong need the Word of God to keep them persevering to the end just like we do. And they need it in order to evangelize and bring lost souls to Christ, just like we do. The safety issue fades away when we consider that the Word of God is vital and necessary to these brothers and sisters, just as it is to us.

God does not need us to convert Vietnam
By "us" I mean anyone outside of Vietnam. It is a very poor country with a lot of restrictions on Christians. American Christians have a lot of resources, both financial and spiritual, and the freedom to figure out how we can make a great impact on Vietnam. But the Holy Spirit is present in Vietnam making hearts new and tearing down the dominion of Satan. Hell’s doors on Vietnamese soil are already knocked down. And the instruments God is using to build His Kingdom are Vietnamese pastors and Vietnamese house church members. There are no westerners orchestrating the spread of the faith. One can easily adopt the idea that the Americans are coming with resources and knowledge, but when you arrive, you discover that there are thousands of house churches in existence and hundreds of conversions happening every week, and we did not have a thing to do with it.

God can use us to help reach the lost in Vietnam
When Hudson Taylor went to China, his primary prayer was that God would give him "widespread usefulness" in that country. He understood that God uses His people to do His work. One way we can influence the poor country of Vietnam is by giving of our resources. Modest amounts in American dollars can help them accomplish a lot. Printing gospel tracts, transportation for evangelists, food for the orphans, and Bibles for the pastors are all needs that often languish for lack of funds. Having the opportunity to take funds to the people helped me to remember that donations have a needy and grateful face on the other end. Another resource that some of us can give is knowledge of the Scriptures. Pastors in some parts of Vietnam are begging to be taught more about the Scriptures so that they can share that knowledge with their people. Because copies of the Scriptures are hard to get, and because the church is growing so rapidly, knowledge of the Scriptures is lacking. Some of us have the knowledge and the ability to teach it if we would only be willing to go.

The persecuted believers in Vietnam are happy
Pastor N. said it best. When I asked him what he wanted American Christians to know about Vietnamese Christians, he wanted to make sure we saw the whole picture. He said, "We are happy because we do whatever we want, even if the government forbids it." It was a great statement of joyful obedience to Christ in a difficult situation. I saw the reality of Jesus’ command to rejoice when persecution comes (Matthew 5:12). I have never had to apply this verse to any situation in my life, but these Christians must constantly draw strength from the hard statements of Christ. They lack comfort. They lack security. They have to learn to be suspicious of the government, their neighbors, and even a new visitor in the church meeting. But in the midst of this, they are happy to take up their cross and follow Christ.