Lê Vĩnh Thạch and the 60s
During his
study at the School of Liberal Arts in Saigon University, brother Thạch
actively connect the college students in the dormitory in the area of the
French church, corner of Mạc Đỉnh Chi and Thống Nhất along with all other
dormitories for the school year 1958-1959. Mr. David Adeney, General Secretary
of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) came for a visit
in 1959, officially establishing the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF).
IFES appointed Reverend and Mrs. Paul & Maida Contento from Singapore to
Saigon to help the IVCF in 1960. Brother Thạch worked with the Contentos,
bringing many wonderful and exciting result; he also graduated Bachelor degree,
major in Philosophy.
After that,
brother Thạch went on to study at London Bible College (LBC), England in 1961,
and received a degree of Bachelor of Divinity from University of London in
1964. Beside the study at LBC, IFES also sent brother Thạch to Germany, France,
Switzerland and throughout England to be trained and practice the College
Ministry. After he graduated the Bachelor of Divinity in April 1964, IFES
working alongside with the Governing Board of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam
(ECV), sending brother Thạch to a specialized training in Singapore, Hong Kong,
and India. With the request for the Governing Board of the ECV to ordain
brother Thạch before coming back to Vietnam in the beginning of 1965.
The Governing
Board of ECV pastor Lê Vĩnh Thạch to be the Director of the Vietnamese
Evangelical College Student Ministry. Together with Pastor and Mrs. Contento, Pastor Thạch organized training program for college students on Saturday at 39
Nguyễn Duy Dương, District 5, Saigon; at the Saturday evening service at the
French church at 2bis Thống Nhất, District 1, there were activities, lectures,
outreaches for college students. Beside that, there were small groups at
various colleges and universities as well as Christian clubs in major high
schools in and around Saigon and other cities. From here, the college and high
school students began to study Bible inductively. Through that, the students
and young people in Saigon discovered God’s Word easily, creatively, lively,
practically and personally. They understood God’s Word deeply, loved God
passionately, and eagerly participated in various ministries in the church.
Unbeknown to us, the inductive Bible study had helped the churches in Vietnam
to stand firm during the period after 1975.
A breath of
fresh air moving excitedly and passionately everywhere. Pastor Thạch was
invited to preach, teach, and train in many places nationwide. For the first
time in the history of the church in Vietnam, many training activities for
college and high school students took place everywhere, on the weekend and
holidays. There were many training camps and conferences – enabled young men
and women actively involved in building up the local churches. Pastor Thạch was
the very young speaker for some of the big events, especially the Graduation of
the Bible College, and the National Conference of the ECV. Thirteen years ago,
I had copied one of pastor Lê Vĩnh Thạch’s sermon, “The Servant of the Living
Word”, printed in the Christian magazine Thánh Kinh Báo in June 1966, and sent
to many Christian leaders in Vietnam and abroad. All had read with a deep sense
of gratitude to our God.
On December 28,
1968, pastor Lê Vĩnh Thạch once again studied abroad at Chicago, USA. The
Governing Board of ECV appointed Mr. Đàm Quang Thuận to be the Director for the
Vietnamese Evangelical College Student Ministry, to help expand the college
student movement throughout the country. Pastor Đoàn Văn Miêng, the former
President of the ECV, had a deep sentiment and tribute to the ministry of pastor
and mrs. Contento and pastor Lê Vĩnh Thạch on October 1978, “Over the past
three years, when many of the pastors were hesitated to preach, they only read
the Bible and prayed in the services and activities of the local church; the
former college students – those who had been studied the Bible inductively with
pastor and mrs. Contento and pastor Lê Vĩnh Thạch – had courageously led the
Bible study and prayer meeting. It was these Bible study hours had helped those
who attended understood the Bible, held fast to God’s truth and His Word. They,
then, went home, shared what they learned in the family devotion (where family
members gathered at home to worship and pray), and in other activities at the
local churches, bringing the living spirit back to the church . . .” (Pastor
and Mrs. Paul Contento, Collection of Biographies of God’s Servant, The
Cultural and Education Department of the EVC, 2011, pages 74-75).
On December 28,
1968, before leaving Saigon, pastor Thạch carried a 2-year-old boy, kissed him
and said, “Preach the Gospel when you get older, boy!” This little boy was
taken by his family to some of the farewell events for pastor Thạch that month.
When this boy went to college, his family reminded him of that dear incident;
and especially during his college graduation, this young man has said
emphatically, “It will never happen to me.” The man who spoke that is in our
midst, our beloved pastor Bumble Hồ Cơ Nghiệp.
Pastor and Mrs.
Lê Vĩnh Thạch had helped so many young people, the college students, the
community and Christians during the time they lived in Northwestern University,
in Evanston and Chicago. He was also the guest speaker and trainer to numerous
youth camp for college, high school and youth groups in California, and many
other places from 1981-1986, before accepting the senior pastorship at
Fullerton church on September 1986. I had many opportunities to meet with many
people and heard and learned about the total dedication and commitment of
pastor Thạch for God’s kingdom; channeling the flow of grace from our Lord
Jesus Christ, to many other people, many lives, especially the young people to
love God and dedicate their lives to serve God. Praise be to God!
Đan Ái Nhân
(This was the English translation from MSD for the speech that Rev. Phu Xuan Ho read in honor of Dr. Thach Le on 09/11/2023 at the Vietnamese District Pastors' Prayer Meeting)
posted by mar13 @ 7:49 PM
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