Love Hanoi: The role of the Evangelical Church in the Urban Transformation of Hanoi City

The purpose of this project is to explore the role of the evangelical church in the urban transformation of the city of Hanoi. The scope of the project was limited to Hanoi, Vietnam, and to the evangelical churches within a one-hour radius of Hanoi. The project sought to inspire local pastors with a theology for the city and a holistic vision for urban mission and to organize opportunities for citywide collaboration towards urban transformation. In 2012, the Hanoi International Fellowship launched the Love Hanoi campaign while I, the Lead Pastor, began the doctoral program with BGU. In 2017, churches citywide and throughout North Vietnam organized and celebrated the Love Hanoi Festival in partnership with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. More than 30,000 people heard the Gospel for the first time, and thousands responded.
As part of the Love Hanoi Festival, the Love in Action Committee surveyed 154 out of 214 pastors in Hanoi to discover the current engagement of the evangelical church with their communities. The results surprised everyone: 71% of the churches had served over 10,000 people the previous year. Love in Action published and distributed a booklet with the vision, theology, statistics, methods, and examples of city transformation. At the closing ceremony, a detailed report of the Love in Action survey, along with the first Hanoi Church Directory, was presented to the executive pastors and BGEA staff. Afterward, a steering committee of the Evangelical Community of Hanoi was organized, while Love in Action is continuing the work. Under the new Law on Belief and Religion, opportunities need to be explored for the church’s engagement in education, health, and social work. In the words of the Apostle Paul, “to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine … be glory” (Eph. 3:20-21).