Vietnam recognizes Mennonite Church

After two decades of wait, the Vietnam Mennonite Church was finally given a “Certificate for Religious Activities” by the national Religious Affairs Committee (RAC), October 4.

The document recognizes the church’s purpose to “Worship the triune God and love all people according to the Word of the Lord in the Holy Bible, live the gospel, serve God, serve the country and the people.”

Mennonite Church president Nguyen Trung (left) receives a certificate for religious activities from a Vietnamese official.

It was a significant development since government religious control relaxed in the late 1980s, says church president Nguyen Quang Trung, who represents one of two groups claiming to be the Vietnamese Mennonite Church.

The certificate recognizes the 80 congregations and 5,000 members who are registered in formal relationship with Trung, leaving out a significant number of independent Mennonite churches and congregations who left Trung’s leadership in 2004 following a series of government arrests.

Trung invited representatives of Mennonite World Conference (MWC), North American Vietnamese Mennonite Fellowship, and Eastern Mennonite Missions to attend the ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City.

The recognition allows the Vietnam Mennonite Church to function throughout the country and organize an official national conference within the coming year. Should a national conference be held, a constitution and statement of faith adopted and officers elected, the church might be granted legal status permitting the church to purchase property, organize an official training school, and publish materials.

The much larger Evangelical Church of Vietnam was granted official legal status in 2001.

In early 2006 the Adventist Church, the Grace Baptist Church and the Mennonite Church were told they could be active in the Ho Chi Minh area, the first stage in church registration.

Though not yet given legal status, the groups held pastoral training courses early September without incident. However, some rural churches with ethnic minorities continue to experience harassment.

—MWC