Steven is a house church leader in Vietnam. Because of the Asian Outreach-run Livelihood Program, he is now able to support his family financially as he continues to share the gospel with unreached Vietnamese tribes.
Steven is a church leader in one of the largest church denominations in Vietnam. For many years he travelled tirelessly to visit and encourage the tribal churches in the mountainous areas of northern Vietnam, bordering China. For the past six years, he has been a major recipient of AO Vietnam’s (AOVN) media program, receiving hundreds of Hmong Bibles through our partner networks, as well as thousands of CDs, VCDs
and tracts.
In 1998, Steven’s church ran into financial difficulties and they could no longer support him as they used to. He and his wife discussed whether he could find some kind of job in order to pay for the expenses he incurred by serving God. That was when he came into contact with AOVN’s Church Planter Livelihood Program. Through a small loan, he soon saw that not only could he fulfill his goal to finance his mission work, but that he could also use a business as a tool in itself to serve God. The Lord has blessed the slipper shop that he opened with the loan AOVN provided. Since repaying the loan, he has more funds for mission work. Through the increased tithe, his house church can now support four more workers to plant more churches and encourage the new churches. With some friends, they have set up a small fund to help disadvantaged children and old people without family support.
Steven admits that sometimes he finds it very tiring to have a church and to work at the same time. Often his wife must deal with all the new stock that comes in when he is away. However, he feels very blessed to be able to do this and with better planning he is now able to work and not miss any important commitments in the church. He asks for prayer that now that he has paid back the two loans to AOVN he can expand further, double the size of his business and start more churches.
AOVN is helping to bring a paradigm shift to churches in Vietnam. For too long Christians have expected their denomination to provide for them and many are now suffering severe financial hardship. With new vision, training and tools the church leaders are now starting businesses and impacting society.
You and your church can be a part of the exciting growth in the church in Vietnam and around Asia, where many lives are being changed and communities are experiencing radical transformation. With your partnership, we can magnify the impact!
