By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
HANOI (Worthy News) – A pastor in Vietnam’s Central Highlands was recovering from his injuries Thursday after being shot in his left knee with a rubber bullet while riding a motorbike home, Worthy News learned.
In remarks shared with Worthy News, the 62-year-old Pastor Y Hung Ayun, who leads an independent ent house church in Tara Puor village in Dak Lak province, recalled that two men “with faces covered” rode a motorbike alongside him. One of them, “the passenger,” shot twice before they escaped, he said.
“Pastor Y Hung believes that the attack was a warning for him to stop his work as a house church pastor,” Christians told Worthy News.
The attack comes in a period of reported pressure on independent churches in the region, although it was not immediately clear who carried out the shootings
In an earlier incident in the same province, Pastor Y Pho Eban, the 57-year-old leader of a 200-strong independent house church in Cue village, “was shot in the leg” on September 25, Christians said.
He was apparently left with a minor fracture and other injuries. The bullet was removed in hospital, but weeks later, he is reportedly still unable to walk properly.
HOUSE CHURCH LEADER
The pastor believes he was “shot because of his position as leader of a house church,” Worthy News learned.
In November, district police summoned five church members and warned them against attending worship at Y Pho’s home, saying, “He is a bad person and is about to be arrested,” according to Christians with close knowledge of the situation.
Christian charity Barnabas Aid expressed concern that the pressure and attacks violate Vietnam’s constitution, which states that citizens “can follow any religion or follow none.”
Yet the pressure on devoted Christians continues in the Communist-run Asian nation, especially against those worshiping outside government-sanctioned churches, Worthy News established.
The 2018 Law on Belief and Religion requires authorities “to protect” religious freedom but bans any religious activity that could “harm social order and/or national unity,” words that have been used to target house churches.
“Authorities closely monitor unregistered independent house churches and target their leaders for harassment and intimidation,” added Barnabas Aid, a Christian charity supporting believers in the area.
“For many Christians in Vietnam, following Jesus can bring intense hostility and even violence,” said advocacy group Open Doors in a separate assessment.
PRAYERS URGED
“While historical Christian communities, like Roman Catholic churches, enjoy some freedom, both non-traditional Protestants and those who convert from indigenous religions face intense pressure and violence for their faith,” the said advocacy group added.
The group noted that Christians are especially vulnerable “in the remote areas of central and northern Vietnam.”
Barnabas Fund said it had urged believers to “Pray that both pastors” who were recently shot in the Central Highlands “will make a full physical and psychological recovery from the incidents and be able to pursue their leadership roles unhindered.”
It was also crucial to “Pray that local authorities in Vietnam will understand unofficial house churches as a source of social cohesion and unity rather than a threat to social order.’”
The group said it hopes both congregations “will draw strength from following their Lord” and being able “to take joy even in sharing in His suffering,” as described in the Bible.
According to Christian researchers, some 9.6 million people identify as Christians in Vietnam, a nation of about 105 million where Buddhism has many followers.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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