Although the Vietnamese government officially
claims freedom of religion, Christians are viewed as enemies and are
treated accordingly. Christians in Vietnam face severe persecution.
Many Vietnamese pastors are currently imprisoned in brutal labor camps
for “re-education.”
Approximately 120 people groups live in Vietnam. One of these
groups, the San Chay, immigrated to Vietnam from China in the early
1600s. After learning how to grow wet rice, the San Chay settled in
small villages. Today, nearly 150,000 San Chay live in Vietnam and
speak a variant of the Thai language.
In addition to rice, the San Chay also raise cattle and poultry for
meat and religious sacrifices, gather products from the forests and
grow a variety of subsidiary crops. Fish are often raised in the rice
paddies.
Villages consist of several families, which are divided into many
branches. Although discouraged by communist officials, each San Chay
village is ruled by a Khan Thu or headman. The headman’s job is to
settle differences, maintain harmony and represent the village to the
outside world. Despite the privileges and responsibilities attached to
his position, the headman is often quite poor.
Prior to the 1945 revolution, the San Chay possessed their own land;
however, French colonization caused many San Chays to become tenant
farmers.
Outreach
The San Chay worship a multitude of gods
associated with nature and famous ancestors. Most villages have temples
for the worship of spirit gods. A basket of bran along with a few
sticks of incense can be found at the main entrance of each San Chay
household in honor of the buffalo deity, who is regarded as the
“protector of cattle.”
One Vietnamese ministry supported by Christian Aid estimates that 90
percent of the San Chay have never heard the gospel. This ministry is
one of the first ministries to target the San Chay for formal missions
work, and the only one currently working among them. The ministry is
also training more than 1,500 native Christians from other tribes. It
is considered the largest ministry effort in Vietnam, with 10,000
tribal house churches in its association.
The ministry began working with the San Chay in 1995, and has since
planted 100 house churches, with an average of 50 members per church.
The remaining estimated 5,000 believers have not yet been organized
into churches.
The San Chay are in dire need of discipleship training. The shortage
of pastors is becoming a challenge as more San Chay are becoming
Christians. The ministry is training five pastors, but meeting with
them is a dangerous endeavor, as police constantly arrest ministry
leaders and destroy churches. Many times, the ministry will hold
meetings inside of a van driven around the city because no other
location is safe.
In addition to training, the ministry also distributes Bibles to the
San Chay, and is involved in gospel film showings for those who cannot
read. Those who possess Bibles do so at great risk. Several San Chay
pastors have been arrested by police who found their Bibles. The wives
of imprisoned pastors usually do not know where the police are keeping
their husbands. Without a means of income, these families are
struggling to survive. The ministry has provided some financial help to
these families, but is only able to give a small amount.
Vietnam:
- Population: 83,535,576
- Religion: More than 80% profess no religion. Constitutional
guarantees of religious freedom are meaningless. The government
controls all religious movements, including Buddhism. - Literacy rate: 90%
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