Author: Na Herr
Revised: January 17, 2024
Disclaimer: This article was written for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a source for works of scholarship. The author encourages future scholars to do further research and gather more first-person testimonies.
Introduction
In 1975, the Hmong people started immigrating to the United States, leaving their home in Southeast Asia. Some settled in warm states like California, while others settled in cold states like Minnesota. Where they ended up depended on who sponsored them. Many faith-based organizations, such as Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities played a big role in resettling the Hmong people. Churches, including Southern Baptist churches, joined in to rescue these victims of war from an uncertain future in the refugee camp. I will be telling the Hmong Baptist story, where we came from, how we ended up in the United States, and how God is working through our people today.
The Hmong Struggle
While many theories exist about the origins of the Hmong people, most agree that the Hmong people eventually settled in China for a few thousand years. The majority of the Hmong people still live in China, and are grouped together with other minorities, collectively called the Miao. Due to conflicts with government authorities over territory and taxation, many Hmong started migrating south to Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand.
They became involved in the French Indochina Wars and the Vietnam War, where many fought for their land and the right to live free. During the Vietnam War, many Hmong were recruited by the United States C.I.A. in the Secret War in Laos to fight the Communists. The Hmong fought bravely in the war and kept some of the best enemy troops at bay. After the war, many who fought for the U.S. were allowed to resettle in the U.S. as refugees. The majority of the Hmong still live in Southeast Asia.
In addition to our political struggles, we have also struggled spiritually. As animists, we believe that spirits have great influence over human life. For this reason, rituals are needed to appease the spirits in order to receive their blessings and to escape their wrath. Many Hmong today are still shackled by the spirits. Many Hmong elders choose not to accept Christ, not because they dislike the Christian message, but because they want assurance that their soul will rest in peace after they die. They are afraid that a new religion may disrupt their journey into the afterlife, because their ancestral spirits will disown them. I am thankful that even though they knew the consequences and the risks, some of our elders took that risk and committed to following Christ. The courage of these early believers laid a foundation for all of us who came after.
The Hmong People Movement
The first Protestant missionary to reach the Hmong was Samuel Pollard from Great Britain. Pollard started working with the Hmong and other minority groups in Southwest China at the turn of the 20th century. Fifty years later, the modern Hmong Christian movement took off in a small, land-locked country south of China called Laos.
In 1950, the first Hmong family in Laos converted to Christianity, led by Christian & Missionary Alliance missionaries, Ted and Ruth Adrianoff, from the United States. This event sparked a people movement among the Hmong in Southeast Asia. Through missionary activities and radio broadcasting, hundreds of thousands of Hmong in Southeast Asia came to Christ in the 1980s and 1990s.
When the Vietnam War ended, it caused great upheaval in the region. As U.S. forces pulled out of Southeast Asia in 1975, the Hmong and other pro-American groups were left to fend for themselves. Many Hmong immigrated to the U.S. as refugees. But before they could come, they needed sponsors in America.
A few refugee families were sponsored by a Lutheran agency in Kansas City, KS. Through a series of contacts, a missionary in Laos connected a Southern Baptist church with the newly arrived refugees. This group of refugees started the first Hmong Baptist church in the U.S. in 1977.
In 1981, a Hmong widow arrived with her two young children at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. She had no family in Minnesota and did not speak any English. Roseville Baptist Church sponsored her and her two children, thus planting the seed for the first Hmong Baptist church in Minnesota.
In 1984, another group of Hmong refugees moved from Des Moines, IA to Rochester, MN and started attending a Southeast Asian mission at Emmanuel Baptist Church. In 1989, they separated from the multi-lingual mission and started meeting separately at the church. There are many more similar stories of the beginnings of Hmong Baptist churches in the U.S.
In 1982, a small group of Hmong Baptist churches across the U.S. started gathering together for fellowship, led by Rev. Joshua Vang who was working with the Home Mission Board (today, the North American Mission Board). Eventually, the Hmong Baptist National Association (HBNA) was formed in 1991 with Rev. Tong Zong Vang as its executive director, to provide resources and direction for the growing number of Hmong Baptist churches.
With support from the Home Mission Board, the first Hmong hymnal with musical notation was printed in 1991. An even greater feat was accomplished in 1997 when the Bible was fully translated into Hmong by Rev. Xeng Xiong and a small team of volunteers. It was published by the Hmong Baptist National Association and has since been distributed to the Hmong people worldwide. This translation continues to be distributed more than any other Hmong translations in the world. Today, there are over 50 Hmong Baptist churches in the U.S. As the churches have grown, they are reaching back to Southeast Asia.
Ministry to the Hmong
Though some Hmong people have embraced the Christian faith, the vast majority still practice animism or a form of ancestor worship. Many Hmong do not go to church because they think it is a “White man’s religion.” They hold on to the old traditions, because they are afraid of losing their cultural identity.
However, there are many connections between Hmong customs and those found in the Old Testament. For example, the Hmong have a sacrificial system to make atonement for sin, similar to the ancient Israelites. Because of this, it is not difficult for the Hmong to accept the story of how Jesus died to atone for our sins. The Hmong also have a practice of painting animal blood on their door posts to ward off malevolent spirits, similar to the Passover event in the book of Exodus. In addition, the Hmong have a custom where if an elder brother dies, his wife is married to the younger brother. Furthermore, Hmong folk tales tell of a Great Flood which destroys most of the world. And though the Hmong believe in spirits, they were never polytheists. They always believed that one God exist and is supreme over all of creation. Coming to Christ is a logical next step for many Hmong who see these connections.
Conclusion
According to the IMB, there are roughly 4.5 million Hmong people in the world and less than 10% evangelical. The harvest is great, and the workers are few. However, through cooperation in the Southern Baptist Convention, I believe the Hmong church in America can make a big impact on the global Hmong community. Pray for God to raise new leaders and teachers who will go into the harvest, so that the gospel of Jesus Christ can be heard in every village and town where Hmong people live.