Vietnamese Mennonite Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)
The Vietnamese Mennonite Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania began in 1982 when Pastor Trân Xuân Quang (Trân is the family name) and his wife, Tam, reached out to Vietnamese immigrants who had settled in the Philadelphia area following the end of Vietnam War. Pastor Quang served as the Saigon Mennonite Church's leader in Vietnam from 1969 to 1975, though his original training was with the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church.
The new Philadelphia congregation combined mission outreach with social services for Vietnamese refugees. Pastor Quang had earlier launched a Vietnamese church in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, in 1979, but that congregation commissioned him to launch a work in Philadelphia.
The Vietnamese Mennonite Church rented space on the second floor of the Second Mile Center at 214 South 45th Street. It later met at the Calgary United Mennonite Church before renovating space in a former bar on Woodland Avenue in 1988. The Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions helped with funds for the purchase and renovation of the building.
In 2010, the congregation launched the Church for the Needy, an English-speaking congregation that met in the same building and tried to reach members of the local community.
In the 2010s, the congregation began outreach back in Vietnam, and by 2017, it had launched 11 congregations.
In 2019, Sunday morning attendance was about 35.
Bibliography
Greiser, David. "Worship as diverse as the city in which it is held." Gospel Herald 86, no. 25 (22 June 1993): 7.
Martin, Luke S. "First Vietnamese Mennonite pastor dies." Mennonite World Conference. 26 November 2014. Web. 4 December 2024. https://mwc-cmm.org/en/stories/first-vietnamese-mennonite-pastor-dies.
Nguyen, Crystal. "Day by day with God." Shalom News 39, no. 3 (July-September 2019): 7.
"Our Vietnamese roots." Shalom News" 30, no. 4 (August-September 2010): 4.
"Vietnamese Mennonite Church (VMC) outreach in Vietnam." Shalom News 37, no. 3 (July-September 2017): 7.
"Vietnamese Mennonites attend conference for Vietnamese leaders." Gospel Herald 79, no. 4 (28 January 1986): 63.
Witmer, Nancy. "Church in bar." Gospel Herald 84, no. 3 (15 January 1991): 13.
Additional Information
Address: 6237 Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19142
Telephone: 215-820-5399
Website:
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Pastoral Leaders at Vietnamese Mennonite Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Trân Xuân Quang (1930-2014) | 1982-2006 |
| Tuyen T. Nguyen (Bishop) |
2006?-2009 2009- |
| Peter Nguyen | 2017?- |
| Daniel Q. Tran (Associate) | 2017- |
Vietnamese Mennonite Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1985 | 4 |
| 1990 | 48 |
| 2000 | 158 |
| 2009 | 160 |
| Author(s) | Samuel J Steiner |
|---|---|
| Date Published | December 2024 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Steiner, Samuel J. "Vietnamese Mennonite Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2024. Web. 12 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Vietnamese_Mennonite_Church_(Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=180019.
APA style
Steiner, Samuel J. (December 2024). Vietnamese Mennonite Church (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 12 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Vietnamese_Mennonite_Church_(Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania,_USA)&oldid=180019.
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