HANOI, Vietnam – The familiar song, What The World Needs Now is Love, is proving relevant today through the work of two Regent University graduates.
The Love Your City project is helping the once-hostile Vietnamese government to become more welcoming of Christian churches with government officials even attending the recent Christmas Peace Festival that was held in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi.
More than 14,000 from different Christian denominations attended the event. The day-long affair featured family activities, talent shows, and evangelistic plays. It culminated with praise and worship followed by American evangelist Reid Saunders sharing the gospel. More than 1,000 came forward to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Ten years ago, Christian events like this one in Communist Vietnam wouldn’t have happened. But in recent years, local government officials have joined the audience. This year, the Vietnamese police even hosted a Christmas dinner for all of the pastors, symbolizing respect and understanding between the police force and the religious community.
Hanoi International Fellowship (HIF) Lead Pastor Jacob Bloemberg attributes this breakthrough to the “Love Hanoi” campaign which their church began in 2012.
“Whenever we meet government officials, we were not asking for permits or other things. We were asking
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