What an amazing life Minh Ha Nguyen lived! Glory! May we all be inspired by his life of works for our LORD! Amen! We pray for his family and all his friends at this time for peace and comfort. Reading about his life inspires me to do better! Glory!
Baptist Press
By Scott Barkley, posted July 16, 2024 in Ethnicity, International Mission Board, SBC News
RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — The Southern Baptist Convention’s expanding diversity became a passion for Minh Ha Nguyen, leading to his work in establishing and updating a cutting edge portal and resource that has greatly influenced the SBC’s work to share the Gospel among its ethnically diverse community.
Nguyen, 57, drowned at a North Carolina beach July 15. Coworkers learned of the tragedy from news reports and a message from IMB President Paul Chitwood, who called Nguyen “a faithful and gifted team member.”
His influence grew as he used his role as director of gift care and data stewardship for the International Mission Board’s Ministry Advancement Team to provide statistics and research that influenced the way Southern Baptists view ethnic growth and biblical generosity. At the SBC Annual Meeting last month, Nguyen presented an update to BaptistResearch.com as president of the Ethnic Research Network’s Core Team.
“Minh Ha was an incredibly gifted colleague who served for 24 years in key roles with the IMB to support our work and workers around the world,” Chitwood said in a statement to Baptist Press. “He helped shape our stewardship strategies and our efforts to evangelize the largest cities in the world, but also served our SBC family in ethnic ministry in the U.S. We rejoice in his eternal reward even as we grieve with his family, with hope.”
Victor Chayasirisobhon, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Anaheim, Calif., and interim director for the SBC Asian Collective, recalled in an email Nguyen’s “amazing smile, a kind heart, a body of research helping churches and specifically Asian churches that is second to none.”
“There will be no replacing him,” Chayasirisobhon wrote. “Let us pray for his family, his friends, and his church as they navigate this sad time. Life is short, heaven is eternal, so let’s continue to serve God together until the day we are together forever.”
Nguyen was 12 years old when he met Jesus. It was in a boat designed to hold a few dozen but crammed with more than 100 refugees from the Vietnam War. They broiled under a relentless sun as the South China Sea met the horizon in all directions.
“It was unbearable,” he said in a newly-released video of his testimony. “This is the story of the life I was born to live. It is a story about struggles, survival and salvations even amid sufferings, shootings, storms and starvation.” More Here