The work of teaching in various places and cultures globally has granted us the privilege of encountering many unique nations, yet one country stands out: the mysterious nation of Vietnam. For many in the American cultural sphere, the name Vietnam remains inextricably linked to the Vietnam War and its profound historical implications. For those of a certain generation—whose childhood was spent watching the conflict unfold on television and who graduated high school as the war came to a close—Vietnam is part of their generational DNA, carrying a special weight. Even for subsequent generations, the fallout and implications of the war were deeply embedded in the American psyche. Today, however, we seek to explore the amazing transformation and new spiritual vitality unfolding in this country, a nation that has endured immense suffering.

It is essential to acknowledge that Vietnam remains a communist country, one of only five such nations in the world today. Due to the legal implications surrounding Christianity, including the potential for persecution and the illegality of certain Christian activities within the nation, discretion is necessary. Consequently, we must be careful not to reveal specific names, pictures, or definitive locations.

The Unfolding Vision in Hanoi

Our ministry, PassionLife, has been observing and participating in the work that God is doing in Vietnam. Our initial trip together, prompted by the spread of ministry concepts from China, took place in November 2017. We arrived in Hanoi with an invitation and the expectation of teaching the Four Questions training to approximately 75 different pastors and leaders.

Upon arrival, we were struck by familiar images—people wearing the traditional round, pointed hats working in the rice fields—images previously known only from historical media, now observed in color. Yet, we faced an unforeseen challenge: we were unknowingly competing for the attention of the Hanoi pastors with an event organized by Franklin Graham. This competition for attention resulted in a drastic reduction in attendance; the expected 75 attendees became only about five pastors and perhaps 20 other leaders, totaling no more than 25 individuals. Traveling such a great distance at significant expense and then dealing with that level of disappointment necessitated a deliberate decision to accept the reality that “the Lord has me here” and that “God does not despise small beginnings”.

It was on that first day of teaching the Four Questions that something extraordinary occurred, the ripple effects of which continue to unfold to this day. The Four Questions training begins with the biblical foundations of God’s perspective on human life and value in the womb, followed by the reality of child sacrifice. It later transitions to practical application: how to find forgiveness for past guilt and grief, and how to start rescuing mothers and babies.

Among the small group of 20 to 25 attendees was a young woman brought by her pastor. She had visited the pastor the previous day after being told she needed to have an abortion due to pregnancy complications. The pastor, unsure what to advise, invited her to attend the training. During the lunch break, this woman and her pastor approached us, revealing that she was scheduled for an abortion at 2:00 PM that very afternoon.

The women present at the training immediately gathered, laid hands on the woman, and began to pray. They instantly became rescuers and “graduates” of the training after hearing only the first two questions. Love immediately taught them what to do: they committed to helping her, walking her through the situation, and sticking with her now that they understood the value of human life. This small group experienced its first rescue in Vietnam during the inaugural training session, saving the first baby before lunchtime. Such an immediate rescue is highly unusual in ministry contexts.

The Incarnation of Testimony

This initial event “portended well for the future of the pro-life work in Vietnam”. The defining moment of the movement, however, occurred during a subsequent trip. On a return visit, while teaching a small group of 30 to 35 people, we completed Questions One and Two. Just before the lunch break, the back door of the training room opened, and in walked the same woman who had been at the very first training. She had decided to keep her baby, and the local Christians who had worked with her invited her back. She entered the room with her seven-month-old baby, the child rescued from abortion during that first training session.

For the new group of pastors, seeing this woman’s transformed life and holding the baby—seeing its value—caused them to become graduates of the training after just two questions. While they received the rest of the curriculum after lunch, they profoundly understood the message. This event was one of the highlights of our 15 years of ministry work. The woman’s testimony, saying, “look at the power that the church has to rescue mothers and babies like me,” provided an “authorizing moment” for the pastors. While the word of God was taught, the testimony made it “incarnate,” allowing them to see, feel, and hold the vision of their churches transforming into an army of good Samaritans.

The baby rescued during the first trip will eventually grow up hearing the story of how she nearly died but was rescued, which will impact her understanding of how God pursued and protected her life.

From Study to Statewide Movement

The hallmark of the movement in Vietnam is the profound seriousness with which the local Christians took the training and their resulting commitment to reproduce it nationally.

Unlike many contexts where we encourage immediate teaching, the leaders in Hanoi acted with mature pastoral leadership. Likely concerned because their country had been bombarded by “flaky ministries” and “strange religions,” these leaders studied the Four Questions—which is fundamentally a Bible study—for about six months. They met weekly, taking apart every verse and word, praying about it, and challenging each other to ensure they were teaching something true.

When they finally organized and began teaching, they were thoroughly prepared, leading to a “mass explosion” in the number of trained individuals. They knew the Word of God and communicated the concepts fluidly, prompting a tremendous response. The trainings quickly moved outside the Hanoi area and into minority groups, generating stories of people walking overnight or riding motorbikes for 13 hours to attend. The leaders also took it upon themselves to translate the Four Questions material (which can be downloaded for free from PassionLife’s website) from Vietnamese into languages like Hmong. They quickly became missionaries within their own ethnic minorities. Within a year or two of our first visit, they initially set a prayer goal to reach all 63 provinces of Vietnam, but they soon “scrapped that goal” as too small. Their new, amazing goal was to reach and teach every single church in the country of Vietnam with the Four Questions.

The DNA of a Godly Movement

This zealous reproduction embodies the qualities of a true movement of God. The Vietnamese people, having suffered under tremendous hardship and limited liberty, possess an earnest desire to be faithful. When they grasped what the Bible teaches about the sanctity of human life, they were zealous to teach it to other churches and to their young people. This work of teaching the word and bringing forward testimony is reminiscent of Psalm 78. God commanded the fathers to teach the law and testimony to their children, “that the next generation might know them—the children yet unborn—and arise and tell them to their children so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep his commandments”.

Psalm 78 underscores that these “glories” are not for us to hold, but to pass on. This principle of disciples making disciples is at the heart of the Four Questions’ DNA: it is designed to be retaught constantly. The world does not need more experts, but more “good neighbors” who rush into problems with love and let that love guide them to stop the innocent from dying. When people see themselves as rescuers rather than deferring to experts, they become a movement. Their stories inspire the next group, who go out and obey the commandment to rescue, thus acquiring their own stories, creating an explosive cycle of teaching the word and testimony.

God’s Providence and Policy Shift

Geographically, Vietnam holds a strategic position, sharing borders with Cambodia, Laos, and China. The potential exists for this movement to spread into neighboring Laos and Cambodia.

In a dramatic shift, the government of Vietnam, which had maintained a two-child policy since 1988 to control population growth, abolished the policy in June 2025. Like many other places globally, Vietnam’s birth rate is falling below replacement levels, causing worry about the country’s future.

It is remarkable that the people who have historically been most oppressed—the zealous Christians—are now in a position to rescue the country in terms of fertility. These Christians are keen to produce good works, bringing help to mothers and babies, and teaching them to trust God for daily bread and forgiveness. It is pleasing to witness God’s providence leading the government to realize they need more babies and, by definition, people who want to rescue babies. The government is being drawn back toward the realization that the Bible’s plan for a harmonious, just civil society, which thrives and creates value through children, was effective all along.

In a significant breakthrough, the Vietnamese Christians pursued official government approval for the Four Questions training. They operated “above board,” submitting their material to the government for review. Astoundingly, this material—the first pro-life Christian training of its kind—received government approval to be taught within Vietnam, a testament to the favor God has shown this work. The success of the core organizing committee, their rigorous study and preparation, their missionary focus on minority neighborhoods, and their creation of locally relevant Vietnamese testimonies have all contributed to what has gone well.

Challenges Ahead

Despite these miraculous advances, the church still exhibits weaknesses. Not everything has proceeded smoothly; the devil still seeks his influence. Challenges include a pronounced “mine/yours” mentality within the Vietnamese church culture, manifesting as protectiveness regarding which groups are being trained. There have also been issues with turnover, as some key leaders have been forced to step away from the work. Additionally, an ongoing cultural divide exists between North and South Vietnam, which presents an organizational challenge.

Ultimately, while wonderful things have happened and the rapid reproduction of the training continues, we encourage prayer for Vietnam. As the United States accounts for only 3% of the world’s annual abortions, leaving 97% of the crisis as a world missions challenge, our focus must remain on rescuing the most vulnerable where abortion is most concentrated. We welcome partnership in bringing the gospel of life to places like Vietnam, continuing to fan the fires of a movement that knows how to testify and teach the word of God.

This article is adapted from the episode transcript.