“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” - John 14:13-14

The year 2006 was definitely a year of answered prayer from our Heavenly Father to bring Glory and Honor to His Mighty Name! God took a vision He implanted in our hearts 18 years ago and brought it to fulfillment in 2006 to show His love and mercy for His children in Binh Chau, Vietnam.

The year started out with the completion of the construction of the church building originally started the end of 2005 in Binh Chau. Despite many obstacles from the government, including trying to stop the construction, our Almighty God guided and protected us every step of the way. We then petitioned the local government in March to recognize this new building as the Evangelical Church of Binh Chau. Expecting a long delay in that decision, we were pleasantly surprised when notified by Pastor Quy only a month later that the local government had granted their approvement AND the dedication was scheduled for April 30th (which happened to be the 31st anniversary of the Communist takeover of South Vietnam).

We hurried to make arrangements to leave for Vietnam for a week to attend the dedication. Upon arriving in Ba To (where Pastor Quy’s church is, about 20 miles from Binh Chau) we discovered that the local government had approved the church, but when they forwarded it up the line to the Province level, the answer was absolutely NO. Furthermore, they would try to stop any activities that were planned. After much prayer, we decided to go forward with the dedication, trusting in God to continue to shield and protect us. We did decide to stay in Ba To and not go to Binh Chau until just before the dedication as not to bring attention to our activities.

When we arrived in Binh Chau on the afternoon of April 30th, we were told the Provincial police had been to two of Mai’s sisters’ houses the night before looking for us in hopes of intimidating us to stop the dedication. Even though there was uncertainty what the government might do, God gave us a deep calmness and peace as we headed to see the new church. As we saw the church for the first time in person, we were overwhelmed with tears of joy as we realized again what an AWESOME God we serve! He, and He Alone, had built what man said could not be built. Even though the building was beautiful, we were more excited to know that God had provided a place where His true church, the body of believers, could gather to praise, worship, and learn to know Him better.

The dedication started as scheduled at 2pm. The government threats did not seem to detour anyone from coming as approximately 160 people attended. This included most of the 81 Christians in Binh Chau, plus members of the 4 other evangelical churches in the surrounding area (none of which are officially recognized as churches by the government). The dedication was such a Glorious event where our Lord Jesus’ name was High and Lifted up in prayer, song, and the reading of God’s Word. We felt the Presence of our All Living God and knew this was truly His answer to all of yours and our prayers that have been presented to him over the last 3 years. We felt each and every one of you with us spiritually as we gave thanks to our Lord and Savior for each of you at CFC. About half way through the dedication a government official did show up to try to stop it, but God gave us the ability to handle the situation quickly and without disrupting the service. When we finally arrived back at the hotel in Ba To that evening, we realized we had only slept 3 hours over the last 40 hours, but we weren’t even tired. What a Spiritual high we had been on all day and you couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces. As we reflected back where we had been 14 years earlier (truly at the bottom of the pit and ready to give up), and how a Gracious, Loving God had reached down and given us newness of Life in Him, and had allowed us today to be a part of this ceremony where His Glory was so Magnificent, we were so thankful and blessed.

After we returned to the United States the church continued to meet in the new building for Sunday Worship. For 3 weeks the government showed up to try to discourage our brothers and sisters in Christ from meeting there, but they stood firm in their faith. After 3 weeks the government stopped coming by. Today, although not recognized by the government as a church, we are able to do everything in the building you would do as a church (Sunday Worship, weekly Bible studies, etc.)

In July of 2006 I was able to have a phone conversation with Dr. Thomas Stebbins and he referred me to Mr. Drew Sawin, who works closely with the Vietnamese government. I called Mr. Sawin and he stated that we were going about things the wrong way. Over the last 2 months, the 3 top government leaders in Vietnam had been replaced with younger men who seem to be more open to “US influence”. Mr. Sawin also stated that these new officials had held leadership conferences recently, and among the items discussed, was the subject of allowing more religious freedoms. Praise God! He suggested I send a letter to the president of an organization called the Evangelical Church of the South stating that we have a building in Binh Chau that we would like to request be recognized as the Christian Evangelical Church of Binh Chau.

In August of 2006 we relayed this information to Pastor Quy. Pastor Quy asked if we could petition for his church and the 4 other churches he oversees (this includes Binh Chau) to all be recognized by the government. We then sent a letter to Pastor Quy which he hand delivered to the headquarters of the Evangelical Church of the South in Ho Chi Minh City.

In September of 2006 the Evangelical Church of the South sent two representatives to Binh Chau to gather more information. They also instructed them on their children’s ministry with an emphasis on sharing Jesus with the children during home visits. He stated the process to get the Binh Chau church recognized was to first get the mother church (Pastor Quy’s church in Ba To) recognized. Once that was done, then all the churches that Pastor Quy oversees would be recognized. We are currently waiting for their answer on this request. Meanwhile, we are praying that God would soften the hearts of those involved and guide them to recognize all 5 churches. We believe this would open the door for more people to attend church without the fear of government retribution.

The church was not without its struggles in 2006 as Sunday Worship attendance fluctuated from low weeks of 18-20 to high weeks of 45-50(this number does not include children). Reasons why? Some attend for awhile and then succumb to the pressures of family to revert back to old tradition/culture. Some give in to intimidation by the government at their work places. Some fall back into old habits due to lack of Spiritual nourishment. Others simply don’t have the transportation to get to church and back. Another obstacle to overcome, as I’m sure happens in many new church plants, is the lack of trained laymen to help minister to the congregation. The church has grown in 2006, but this has greatly increased the workload for Lam and Mai (the husband and wife Bible teachers in Binh Chau). We have been praying that God will raise up brothers and sisters within the church to assist Lam and Mai.

The children’s ministry in 2006 remains very strong and continues to grow. Most weeks, 35-40 children attend weekly Bible studies with over 50 children in the total program. It is so exciting to see God working in the hearts of these children and to know He will use these precious souls to change the generations to come. Currently, Lam and Mai do the children’s Bible studies with all age groups in the same class. God has put a desire in the hearts of two young women, Thuy and Lien, to be trained to teach children’s Bible study. We will be sending them to a large CMA church in Vung Tau (about 30 miles from Binh Chau) for training. They will go 4 days a month for the next 6 months. When their training is completed, we will be able to break the children’s Bible studies up into smaller groups based on age. This will allow Lam more time to focus on his adult Bible study classes, whose numbers have been steady at 10-15 each week, but has not been increasing in number as the children’s ministry.

In 2006 the church established two more important groups; a women’s group and a youth (teens and above) group. The women’s group has been active in prayer meetings, mercy ministry, and cooking fellowship meals. Their wok is limited at this time by lack of funds, but they have the heart to serve. The youth group consists of only a handful of young men and women (5-8), but we are told they are very energetic and have a great desire to know the Lord.

In December of 2006 the church held its first evangelical outreach to the community at the church. Members were asked to invite relatives, friends, or neighbors who were not Christians to the service. After a time of prayer, praise and worship music, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was presented. Then an altar call was given and five people stepped forward to ask and receive Jesus into their hearts and lives as their Lord and Savior. Praise the Lord! At the end of 2006, there are approximately 100 Christians (an increase of about 20 from 2005) in the Binh Chau area (out of a population of 30,000). We give thanks to our Almighty God for drawing these precious souls to Him.

In looking back on 2006, it was a year of great Joy in seeing God establish His church in Binh Chau and increase its numbers, but it was also a year of frustration knowing so much work is still to be done. We thank CFC for the prayers and financial support you have so generously given to our ministry to Binh Chau. In addition to the $200 we receive each month from CFC for our ministry, Mai and I contribute an average of $300 a month of the financial blessings God has given us. We are in the process of applying for a 501(3) C license so we can do more fundraising for our ministry to be able to reach more souls. We give Glory to God for providing the funds of $39,000 to purchase the land and pay for the construction of the church building in 2006. We received donations of $18,000 from members of the congregation at CFC and $21,000 came from anonymous donors.

As we go forward in 2007 please keep our ministry lifted up in prayer, especially for the following:

• That God would raise up a person to help Lam in the discipleship of new believers.
• That God would raise up volunteers within the church to help minister to the growing needs of the church
• That God would grant wisdom and understanding of His Word to Thuy and Lien as they train to be able to teach children’s Bible studies.
• That God would fill the Christians in Binh Chau with boldness in sharing the Gospel with their family, friends, and neighbors.
• That God would protect the church from any government persecution.
• That God would soften the hearts of those government officials that are in charge of making the decision to recognize the church and their answer would be YES.
• That God would provide the financial funds to purchase a used van (around $5,000) in order to provide transportation to and from church activities for those without their own means.
• That God would provide the financial funds (approximately $35,000) to purchase additional land adjacent to the church to build a nursery, fellowship hall, and Pastor quarters in the future.

We thank you again for the continued prayer and financial support in 2007 for our ministry to Binh Chau, Vietnam. We look forward to the official government recognition of the Binh Chau church so a short-term mission’s trip might be scheduled. May everything God allows us to do in 2007 bring Glory and Honor to His Name.

In Christ’s love,
Dennis and Mai Spencer