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Baptist Press will resume publication Monday, Nov. 30.
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HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (BP)--Shortly before the fall of Saigon in 1975, Le Quoc Chanh, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), came with his wife and young son to the home of missionary Sam James.
Chanh told James that he and his family had the opportunity to leave the war-ravaged country on a boat but weren't sure what to do. They were going to spend the weekend praying. James, whose wife and children had already evacuated, pledged to join the Chanhs in prayer.
"Monday morning, they came back to my house," James recalled. "Pastor Chanh told me they had decided to stay in Vietnam. He said that God had given him a flock to pastor, and he could not abandon his sheep."
Both men knew the enormity of this decision.
Many churches closed their doors as turmoil and uncertainty enveloped the country. Grace Baptist was the only church that remained open and held services in the early days of the new Vietnamese government.
Today Grace Baptist still meets at its original location, the site in mid-November for services celebrating 50 years of Baptist work in Vietnam. Vietnamese Baptists, former missionaries and visitors from the United States and Cambodia gathered for worship, preaching and celebration. Nearly 725 people, including a number of government officials, attended the Nov. 15 service.
Pastor Chanh was seated on the front pew.
Although elderly and in poor health, Chanh retains the title of senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. He stood briefly to accept a plaque from Bobby Welch, who represented the Southern Baptist Convention and was keynote speaker ... Read More
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FIRST-PERSON: A church as inspiring as its films
ALBANY, Ga. (BP)--There are more than enough multi-million-dollar theatrical releases out there with a storyline so boring it makes you wish you had stayed home and watched, say, a rerun of the 6 o'clock news. Thankfully, there are exceptions, including movies by Sherwood Baptist Church.
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