By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Vinh Nguyen believed he had found happiness when he was granted refuge in the United States near the end of the Vietnam War.
But six years later, he learned that true happiness required something more — a relationship with Jesus.
His life was so transformed by the Truth of the Person of Christ that he formed the congregation of Vietnamese Hope Baptist Church, Baton Rouge.
“God has been using us to connect with Vietnamese and other Asians,” Nguyen told the Baptist Message. “The nations have come here, and some have heard the message of Christ, believed in Him, and become part of our church. We get to be a friend to them and let them know we are here to love them.”
GUIDED BY GOD
Nguyen arrived in Hawaii in 1975 as the Vietnam War was ending.
Two years later, he began studying with the University of Florida and upon graduation he accepted a position with Exxon in Baton Rouge.
While living in Louisiana’s capital city, he accepted a friend’s invitation to attend a Bible study with Riverdale Baptist Church. The kindness and welcoming spirit of the church touched his heart and soon afterward he accepted Christ.
Three years later, he began a Vietnamese Bible study with Victoria Baptist Church. What started as a small class eventually became God’s call for him to pastor and plant a church reaching the growing Vietnamese population in central Baton Rouge.
“I was saved and grew up in an American church,” he said. “But God called me to work with the Vietnamese people. I came to Victoria just to start a Bible class, but later the Lord called me to the pastor position.”
GENERATIONS GROW
Since the church’s inception in 2000, he has baptized 134 new believers and has seen the church grow from 15 to 100 for Sunday worship and 80 for Sunday school. Because he has been pastoring the church long term, Nguyen has baptized multiple generations who attend.
“To see some of them come as teens, then marry and have their own children has been a blessing,” he said. “But then I have been able to baptize both generations which has been a blessing, too.”
The congregation’s reach now includes many nationalities: Vietnamese, Mexicans, Cambodians, Americans and others of all ages. For that reason, they are now known as Vietnamese/English Hope Baptist Church.
They also support a small Vietnamese mission group in Ruston – for more than 10 years — and hope to reach additional Asian communities in nearby cities in the future.
In January, Vietnamese/English Hope Baptist Church hosted an Asian Leaders’ Retreat, drawing pastors of various Asian backgrounds who encouraged one another and shared ministry strategies.
The retreat was supported by gifts through the Georgia Barnette Louisiana Missions Offering, named for the first paid executive director of the Woman’s Missionary Union in Louisiana. This Louisiana Baptist state missions offering will be promoted throughout September, with a goal of $1.8 million.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Nguyen asked Louisiana Baptists to pray that Asian communities across the state will hear and respond to the Gospel. He also requested prayers of encouragement for Asian church leaders and for their equipping. Finally, he asked for prayers that Vietnamese/English Hope Baptist Church will extend its reach of Vietnamese people in Baton Rouge and beyond.
“Pray for revival in our church and that God will provide more workers,” he added. “I have a vision to start more small Bible study groups among Vietnamese across the state. The church needs to grow, not just locally but into nearby cities, so we can see many more people come to the Lord.”
Visit georgiabarnette.org to learn more.
