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INTERCOMM
Presents:
Vietnamese Language Recording Project
4 InterComm Films
Chosen by Vietnamese Nationals
To Be Recorded In-Country to Help Them Reach
Vietnamese for Jesus Christ
Target Date: February/March 2008
Featuring Media Produced by Ken Anderson Films
INTERCOMM
PO Box 618
Winona Lake, IN 46590 USA
Phone (574) 267-5774
Fax (574) 267-5876
email - lanejill@intercommedia.org
website - www.intercommedia.org
History
Vietnam’s identity has been shaped by long-running conflicts, both
internally and with foreign forces. China ruled for 1,000 years. In
the 1400's Vietnam conquered the Champa Kingdom in what is now
central Vietnam and moved further southward. During most of this
time powerful Vietnam emperors reigned, fighting civil wars between
the north and the south. In 1858 the French began their conquest of
Vietnam starting in the south. They annexed all of Vietnam in 1885,
but allowed Vietnam’s emperors to continue to reign. France’s
post-World War II unwillingness to leave Vietnam led to failed talks
and an 8-year guerilla war between the communist-led Viet Minh on
one side and the French and their anti-communist Nationalist allies
on the other. In 1954 France and other parties signed a Cessation of
Hostilities Agreement and French colonial rule came to an end. It
also created the partition of Vietnam into North and South, calling
for elections to bring the two factions together as one nation, but
the South refused to accept this provision. In 1955 South Vietnam
declared itself the Republic of Vietnam. In December 1961, the US,
at the request of South Vietnam, sent military advisers to help the
government deal with the Viet Cong campaign. The American military
role peaked in 1969 as peace talks were begun in Paris. In 1973 the
country was divided into a patchwork of zones controlled by the
South Vietnamese and Viet Cong. The US withdrew its military forces.
In early 1975 the North Vietnamese regular miliary forces began a
major offensive in the south, inflicting great damage. The
communists took Saigon on April 30, 1975 and announced their
intention to unify the country. They formed the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam in July 1976.
After reunification, the government confiscated privately owned
property and forced citizens into collectivized agricultural
practices. Hundreds of thousands of former South Vietnamese
government, military, and church leaders, as well as intellectuals
previously opposed to the communist cause, were sent to re-education
camps to study socialist doctrine.
in 1986, the Communist Party implemented free-market reforms.
Private ownership of farms and companies and foreign investment was
encouraged. The economy has achieved rapid growth and is now one of
the fastest growing economies in the world.
People and Religion
The population is over 85 million with 54% Buddhist, 22%
non-religious and about 8% Christian. Because Protestantism is
closely associated with the USA, Protestants have been continually
persecuted by the Communist government, much more so than Catholics.
Although the Vietnamese Constitution guarantees religious freedom,
it is meaningless. Believers are harassed, beaten, and imprisoned
for illegally preaching or organizing evangelistic activities.
Government efforts have intensified as churches respond to
persecution with growth and outreach. Registration of churches
implies compromise; failure to register churches is illegal, forcing
most believers underground.
Most of the population was born after the war and are more
interested in capital gain and the outside world than Communist
propaganda. They are, however, proving responsive to the Gospel. The
desperate need for economic development is giving opportunities to
Christian tentmakers in business and English instruction.
In 1974, there were 280 missionaries in Vietnam. By 1975, they were
all gone. They are poised now to re-enter the country, as believers
prayers pry open this closed nation. Instead of being weakened by
persecution, the faith of Vietnamese Christians is growing, and the
Body of Christ is becoming stronger. A large-scale and sustained
turning to Christ is taking place in both the registered and
unregistered (underground) church, especially among the mountain
tribes of Central and Southern Vietnam.
InterComm Strategy
In April 2007, Lane and Jill Anderson met with a group in Vietnam to
discuss the possibility of a Vietnamese Language Recording Project.
Due to security issues, InterComm will not publish names, pictures
of the participants, or the city where the meetings took place, but
a Committee was formed to begin translation work on 4 InterComm
films - the classics, HUDSON TAYLOR and PILGRIM’S PROGRESS, a
teenage film, STEP OVER THE EDGE, and a children’s film, SPACE
SHUTTLE JOURNEY. Very little Christian media material is available
in Vietnamese. The Vietnamese population is young and
media-oriented. There will also be a need for video players and
projectors as little is now available among indigenous leaders and
church groups. A complete budget will be needed to meet these needs.
The Vietnamese Diaspora
A secondary ministry will be with the Vietnamese outside the
country, who fled when Communism took over in 1975. 2 million
Vietnamese have settled around the globe, where they are more
accessible to ministry. These groups can also benefit from videos in
their heart language of Vietnamese.
Commit to Pray
Funding, as outlined on the next pages, is needed, but please also
pray for this Project. It will be somewhat of a covert operation.
The Committee in-country at this point believes that it will be best
not to register this Project with the government. They have seen
much loosening of restrictions and are praying that conditions will
be such by 2008 that the Project can be more open. But currently,
they are talking about our coming as tourists and keeping a very low
profile. Many details are yet to be considered, but translation work
is moving ahead and early February is the target time frame. Please
do what you can to encourage the Vietnamese Christians with the
completion of this Project. We, too, would appreciate your prayers
for safety for the InterComm Team as well.
Complete Budget
Proposal Available upon Request
Click Here to Donate to this Project
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