Assemblies of God in Vietnam

Last updated

The Assemblies of God in Vietnam (AGVN) is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in Vietnam affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship. [1] In 2009, there were an estimated 40,000 adherents. [2] The general superintendent of the AGVN as of 2009, Duong Thanh Lam, was elected in 2001. [3]

History

The Assemblies of God in Vietnam began through the relief work of Don Warren and his wife, who in 1970 opened an orphanage with the help of Cao Tan Phat. [4] The work grew, and soon the three founders asked the Assemblies of God USA for help. In 1971 and 1973, the American AG began sending missionaries to Vietnam. They were aided by Philippine Assemblies of God missionaries and native Vietnamese workers. In 1972, the first church was begun in Vung Tau, and in 1973, Glen Stafford started the first Bible school in the same city. In July of that year, the AG was recognized by the South Vietnamese government. Its first general superintendent was John Hurston, an American missionary, and a central office was set up in Saigon. By 1975, there were 10,000 to 15,000 adherents. [5] After the North Vietnamese victory in 1975, the AG, like other churches, was suppressed. Churches were closed and property was confiscated by the communist government and membership dropped dramatically. The effect on the Assemblies of God was so great that a historian has referred to the years 1975-1988 as the "Silent Period". [6]

In the period from 1988-1998, Tran Dinh Paul Ai, who served as AG general secretary before 1975, began to lead the reorganization of the Vietnamese AG. [7] The first general council was called in 1989 and elected Ai as general superintendent. Though still persecuted during this period, the AG grew and established a presence in every part of the country. Today, it is in the process of receiving official recognition from the Vietnamese government, having received an official operating license in October 2009. This gives it the right to legally operate and is the first step to being recognized as an official church. [2] Prior to this, the AG had been an illegal movement since a 1994 registration attempt failed, and members reported widespread human rights violations. [1] Following the granting of a license to operate, the AGVN held its first official general council on October 20, 2010, in Ho Chi Minh City. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of God in Christ</span> Holiness-Pentecostal Christian denomination

The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is an international Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and a large Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly African-American membership based within the United States. The international headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee. The current Presiding Bishop is Bishop John Drew Sheard Sr., who is the Senior Pastor of the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ of Detroit, Michigan. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Nazarene</span> Evangelical Christian denomination

The Church of the Nazarene is a Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas. With its members commonly referred to as Nazarenes, it is the largest denomination in the world aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and is a member of the World Methodist Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assemblies of God</span> Group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches

The World Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF) is a global cooperative body of over 140 Pentecostal denominations. The WAGF (originally called World Pentecostal Assemblies of God Fellowship) was established on August 15, 1989, at the International Decade of Harvest Conference. Founding delegates represented various national Pentecostal churches that were historically and theologically connected to the AG and in fraternal relationship with each other. WAGF was created to provide structure so that member denominations, which previously related to each other informally, could more easily cooperate on a global basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Pentecostal Holiness Church</span> Pentecostal denomination

The International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) or simply Pentecostal Holiness Church (PHC) is an international Holiness-Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1911 with the merger of two older denominations. Historically centered in the Southeastern United States, particularly the Carolinas and Georgia, the Pentecostal Holiness Church now has an international presence. In 2000, the church reported a worldwide membership of over one million—over three million including affiliates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentecostal Church of God</span>

The Pentecostal Church of God (PCG) is a Finished Work Pentecostal denomination of Christianity headquartered in Bedford, Texas, United States. As of 2010, there were 620,000 members, 6,750 clergy in 4,825 churches worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chi Alpha</span> Christian fellowship and student society

Chi Alpha | ΧΑ, is an international and interdenominational, coeducational Christian fellowship, social club, student society, and service organization founded in 1953 on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. Chi Alpha is sponsored by the Assemblies of God USA, a Pentecostal denomination established in 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada</span> Pentecostal Christian denomination

The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) is a Finished Work Pentecostal denomination of Christianity and the largest evangelical church in Canada. Its headquarters is located in Mississauga, Ontario.

Protestants in Vietnam are a religious minority, constituting 1% of the population in 2022. Though its numbers are small, Protestantism is the country's fastest-growing religion, growing at a rate of 600% in the early 2000s.

Pentecostalism has grown in India since its introduction in the early twentieth century. Several Pentecostal missionaries who had participated in the Azusa Street Revival visited Kerala from 1909 onwards. During the 1920s the missionary Robert F. Cook established the Indian branch of the Church of God, based in Kerala. In 1922 Assemblies of GOD church was established in Melpuram which was part of then Travancore state by missionaries. It has been one of the early pioneering churches in the region. Two other churches founded around this time were Ceylon Pentecostal Mission (CPM) later became The Pentecostal Mission, in the 1980s, founded in Sri Lanka by the Indian evangelist Pastor Paul, and later brought to India; and the Indian Pentecostal Church of God, set up by K.E. Abraham after he split from the church founded by Cook. A later foundation, in 1953, was the Sharon Fellowship, which runs the Sharon Women's Bible College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Vietnam</span>

The majority of Vietnamese do not follow any organized religion, instead participating in one or more practices of folk religions, such as venerating ancestors, or praying to deities, especially during Tết and other festivals. Folk religions were founded on endemic cultural beliefs that were historically affected by Confucianism and Taoism from ancient China, as well as by various strands of Buddhism. These three teachings or tam giáo were later joined by Christianity which has become a significant presence. Vietnam is also home of two indigenous religions: syncretic Caodaism and quasi-Buddhist Hoahaoism.

The Assemblies of God in New Zealand is a Pentecostal denomination in New Zealand and a member of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship. In 2007, the denomination had nearly 200 congregations and preaching points and 30,000 members and adherents, mostly in the North Island, and it sends missionaries to South Asia and Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa</span> Classical Pentecostal Christian denomination in South Africa

The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM) is a classical Pentecostal Christian denomination in South Africa. With 1.2 million adherents, it is South Africa's largest Pentecostal church and the fifth largest religious grouping in South Africa representing 7.6 percent of the population. Dr. Isak Burger has led the AFM as president since 1996 when the white and black branches of the church were united. It is a member of the Apostolic Faith Mission International, a fellowship of 23 AFM national churches. It is also a member of the South African Council of Churches.

The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Finished Work Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assemblies of God USA</span> Pentecostal Christian denomination

The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially The General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States and the U.S. branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal body. The AG reported 2.9 million adherents in 2022. In 2011, it was the ninth largest Christian denomination and the second largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. The Assemblies of God is a Finished Work denomination, and it holds to a conservative, evangelical and classical Arminian theology as expressed in the Statement of Fundamental Truths and position papers, which emphasize such core Pentecostal doctrines as the baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, divine healing and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George O. Wood</span> American Pentecostal minister (1941–2022)

George O. Wood was an American Pentecostal minister. He served in executive leadership of the U.S. Assemblies of God for 24 years in the roles of general secretary and general superintendent. From 2007 until 2017, he served as General Superintendent of the General Council of the Assemblies of God in the United States of America (AG) and had been Chairman of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world, since 2008. He previously served as General Secretary of the AG from 1993 to 2007.

The Samoan Assemblies of God International or SAOG is a Pentecostal fellowship of churches. It reached the Western Islands and outer countries with large Samoan communities, such as New Zealand, America and Australia. It has over 530 churches worldwide with over 97,000 adherents.

The New Zealand Samoan Assemblies of God (SA/G) or (SAOG), officially The General Council of the Samoan Assemblies of God in New Zealand Inc. are a group of Pentecostal congregations predominantly made up of Samoan people. They are affiliated with the Samoan Assemblies of God church.

The China Assemblies of God Taiwan General Council is a Chinese Pentecostal church that was established in Taiwan in 1952. The church was founded by and continues to have strong ties to the Springfield, Missouri based Assemblies of God, the largest of the American Pentecostal denominations. There is another AG body called Taiwan Assemblies of God which was established by the Finnish mission FIDA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japan Assemblies of God</span>

The Japan Assemblies of God is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in Japan affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship. It claims 10,766 adherents and 211 churches. It is also a member of the Japan Evangelical Association.

Sidney James Williams was a pastor and leader of one of the most influential churches in the Assemblies of God in New Zealand. He was a published author and a General Superintendent of the NZ Assembly of God.

References

  1. 1 2 World Christian Encyclopedia 2nd edition (Oxford University Press, 2001), second volume, p. 806
  2. 1 2 Van Veen, Dan. "Assemblies of God Vietnam Granted Permit" Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine . AG News, November 6, 2009. Accessed October 21, 2010.
  3. ↑ Joshua (2001). "Pentecostalism in Vietnam: A History of the Assemblies of God". Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies 4, no. 2: 319.
  4. ↑ Joshua 2001, p. 314.
  5. ↑ Joshua 2001, pp. 315-16.
  6. ↑ Joshua 2001, p. 316.
  7. ↑ Joshua 2001, p. 318-319.
  8. ↑ AG News. "AG of Vietnam holds first general council" Archived October 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine . October 22, 2010. Accessed October 24, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.