GCV Blog

Grace Church of the Valley blog.


Persecution Update: Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the last five nations with a Communist government and ranks #16 among the countries that persecute Christians. The minority Christian population numbers less than 10% of the population, and there have been increasing attacks on them. Christians have great difficulty in obtaining the mandated government registration for their churches. In addition, church buildings have been demolished by government officials, and pastors have been jailed.

In 2007 Nguyen Van Dai, a 46-year-old evangelical church leader and human rights lawyer who had defended many persecuted Christians, was arrested on false charges. He was sentenced to four years in prison, plus four years of house arrest. Nguyen Van Dai’s sentence for house arrest is finally set to expire next month, but he was recently assaulted at his apartment and there have been threats to burn it down. When he reported the incident to the authorities, nothing was done. Threats and intimidation are common tools used against minority Christians, who are targeted for their faith in Christ. Please pray that God will be glorified, and also for special grace for Nguyen Van Dai as he follows Christ in the pathway of suffering.