New Vietnamese and Thai Missions Alliance

News from our APAC Director Rev. Roland Lumawag

In the previous APAC (Asia & Pacific) Update, I mentioned the success of the Vision trip in May to Thailand. The trip was in response to the World Association of Vietnamese Alliance Churches (WAVAC Canada)’s vision to plant a church among the Vietnamese in Thailand under the leadership of Rev. Cuong Do. The vision created an opportunity for the Evangelical Church of Vietnam North (ECVN) and the Thailand C&MA to partner together in making this vision a reality by sending Vietnamese workers to minister among the Vietnamese-Thai.

On June 26, 2017, the Thailand C&MA president, the missions chairman, and I met with the leadership team of ECVN and the missionary couple, a Thai man and Vietnamese woman, in Hanoi. We had two different meetings with the entire group, and then spent some time just chatting and getting to know the missionary couple. Praise God that our meetings went well. Both ECVN and the Thailand C&MA agreed to support the project and the commissioning of the missionary couple. The monthly budget of U$1,725.00 was approved at the second meeting with the idea being that this amount be divided between the different partners: ECVN, AWF, WAVAC, and the Thailand C&MA. A draft of the memorandum of understanding was briefly discussed at the meeting and is subject to be reviewed in October.

God-willing, the missionary couple will be commissioned during the ECVN General Council, the 17^th through the 19th of October, and will leave in the early months of 2018 for Thailand. Please continue to pray for God’s continued guidance, provision, preparation and success of the Lord’s project and above all for a stronger partnership and collaboration between our possible partners.

In the near future, we hope to give a seminar educating ECVN leaders in the practical and biblical aspects of missions.

While we were in Hanoi, Nancy was asked to give a day-long seminar solely for pastors’ wives as part of a program called “Partners in Ministry” developed by the ECVN Alliance women’s president. The meeting was attended by 32 pastors’ wives from both ethnic Vietnamese and hill tribes. Praise God for its success and all the positive comments she received from the pastors’ wives. They said that, “it was the first of its kind!” We hope and pray to see more pastors’ wives in the region participate in this program.