God’s grace opened doors to an unprecedented mission opportunity in communist Vietnam.

In 2011, leadership from the Hmong Fellowship Church (HFC) in Vietnam invited WELS pastor Bounkeo Lor to train their church leaders in the truth of the gospel. Since then, Lor and other WELS representatives have made trips to Hanoi, Vietnam, to train approximately 60 church leaders at a time. The HFC was a church body of 55,000 members in 2011. In the years WELS has provided training, the HFC has grown from 55,000 to over 138,000 members and formed many new churches. Learn more about WELS mission history in Vietnam.

The message of free grace received from Jesus Christ replaced the HFC’s old law-based preaching and brought peace to the Hmong Fellowship Church—church leadership stabilized as a result. In 2018, the communist government in Vietnam noticed this positive change and invited WELS to build a theological education center in the capital city of Hanoi. WELS is currently the only protestant church with official government permission to work with the Hmong in Vietnam. The Lord is opening a door to reach the more than two million Hmong people who live in Vietnam and the surrounding countries.

Fast Facts

• In 2020, the Holy Spirit brought more than 12,000 Hmong people throughout Vietnam to faith in Jesus.
• Regular online training with 57 HFC leaders began in November 2020
• More than 1,360 HFC leaders are waiting for someone to train them in the Word of God.
• WELS has two full-time missionaries devoted to this effort: Bounkeo Lor and Joel Nitz.