Since the collapse of the former South Vietnamese government, tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees have poured onto the shores of the United States. According to the 1990 U.S. census recorded in the Statistical Abstract of the U.S., more than 615,000 people of Vietnamese descent live in the United States, of which most are Buddhist. As is true for many immigrants, the Vietnamese community in the United States suffers from barriers imposed by a different language, culture, people, and a new way of life. Therefore, many Vietnamese have congregated in certain regions of the United States and have formed communities of their own. These regions include California, Michigan, Texas, New York, and Virginia.
So far, 19 Vietnamese United Methodist congregations have been established throughout the nation. However, not one Vietnamese church has been established on the East Coast, even though an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 Vietnamese live there, divided among all the states from Maine to Florida. In the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area, there are between 50,000 and 60,000 Vietnamese immigrants. Most of them live in Falls Church and Arlington, Virginia, as evidenced by the Eden (Vietnamese) shopping center near Seven Corners in Falls Church, Virginia.
Although to date there is no Vietnamese United Methodist presence on the East Coast, there are 59 other denominational Vietnamese churches. Six local Vietnamese churches in the Falls Church, Virginia, area consist of three Southern Baptist churches and a Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), Mennonite, and Episcopal church.
The Vietnamese National caucus and the Arlington District of the Northern Virginia
Annual Conference, together with the General Board of Global Ministries, have put in
place a plan to develop ministries with and to the Vietnamese community in the
Northern Virginia area. This project will be funded jointly by the General Board of Global
Ministries and the Northern Virginia Annual Conference.
| USA | Global Connections | GBGM |