“From the depths of my heart, I want to thank you for the radio you gave me. I’m very thankful I can now listen to God’s word every day.” – Thien- Vietnam

In April 1951, the first meeting between FEBA and the Evangelical Church of Vietnam was held to discuss the addition of a Vietnamese broadcasting schedule to FEBA. A year later, the first Vietnamese radio program was broadcast from Manila as “Vien Dong Radio”, with messages recorded in Vietnam. In 1966, the first Vietnamese joined FEBA staff in Manila, with three others joining in 1969. By 1974, there was a team of staff and volunteers working in Vietnam.

When South Vietnam was taken over by the North, however, the Vietnamese staff were evacuated and relocated to America. In 1975, the FEBC Vietnamese Department was organised as part of FEBA USA in La Mirada and has been broadcasting uninterrupted to Vietnam ever since. From 2008 to present, Christian programs have been produced in Vietnam and other countries for the Vietnamese people.

Vietnamese language programs that are 100% evangelistic are mostly produced in La Mirada (USA) and aired through shortwave from the Philippines for one and a half hours per day.

Due to the heavy Christian persecution in the country from the North, speaker boxes or IBMD (Internet Broadcasts via Mobile Devices), are vital to keep spreading the Good News of Christ. The Vietnamese team has also developed SD cards for cell phones, which hold up to 120 hours of programming with Christian messages.

Despite the persecution that Vietnamese Christians face, FEBA still receives thousands of testimonies every year of how good God has been to His people and how the broadcasts have blessed His people every day.

Here are just a couple of the testimonies we have received recently:

Heart-to-Heart: From Atheist Hacker to Christian Broadcaster

Mr. N* was a young Vietnamese man in Ho Chi Minh City. He was a skilled computer hacker and designed computer games. His family was Buddhist, but he called himself an atheist. A friend gave him a Gospel Speaker Box with the audio Bible. The first thing he heard was completely new to him: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth.”

For two years, he listened to our programs, seeking truth. He was given a Bible and attended church with his friend. Later, Mr. N prayed to receive Christ, and his life changed. “I was becoming a new person,” he says.

Using the Gospel Speaker Box, Mr. N witnessed to his mother, siblings, and close friends. They all turned to Christ.

Mr. N was a successful programmer, but he wanted to use his skills to share Jesus. Eventually he joined the tech team in Vietnam – for a fraction of the pay. When asked why, he says: “The work here has eternal impact.”

^{*Name obscured for safety reasons.}

From Drug Addict to Church Leader

“Before knowing God, I was a person who didn’t know how to love,” Mr. Toua Tang shares. For six years, Mr. Toua Tang was addicted to drugs and alcohol, but was in denial. “If anyone tried to tell me that I was addicted, I would get so angry with that person that I would want to kill him.”

Then Mr. Toua Tang suffered an ischemic stroke. “I couldn’t move my body. I became disabled. I couldn’t do anything and was unconscious.”

Mr. Toua Tang’s family brought him to Laos and Vietnam. For months they tried to find someone to heal him. They spent all their money and even went into debt, but his condition didn’t improve. They eventually decided to bring him home.

“All my relatives tried all kinds of religious methods, to no effect. With no more hope left for my life, I waited for death,” Mr. Toua Tang recalls.

“At that time, I started to listen to the FEBC radio program. The radio host said that God could help sinners and the sick. Even the lame could walk. So, I decided to believe in God.

“After receiving Jesus as my Saviour, I prayed and asked Him to heal me. Miraculously, I started getting better and stronger. I even started to learn how to walk again. And then I was completely healed!

I thought ‘Wow! This is the real God! I want to know more about Him.”  So, Mr. Toua Tang went to FEBC in Chiang Mai to receive Bible training.

“I have learnt that God is the Creator, and He is love. God has changed my life. Now I serve God as a pastor in my village church, leading and taking care of my church.”

To help more people like Mr N* and Mr Toua, you can donate by following the link: https://www.payfast.co.za/donate/go/febaradiosouthafrica