History

“To be a light to the nations in Hanoi and beyond.”

The Hanoi International Fellowship (HIF) is a Christian community that was formed over 15 years ago to provide worship services and fellowship for expatriates living in Hanoi, Vietnam. Growing from a desire for an evangelical style of worship, HIF was launched by a dozen people meeting in a living room on 27 August 1995. “From the beginning,” notes one of the founders, “we wanted to be certain that our identity and purpose were firmly rooted in the Bible—not in any denominational or national culture.”

Over the first decade, HIF grew to about 250 in attendance and met in various hotels. In the spring of 2005, HIF had found itself in a crisis of vision and finances. Through prayer, it became clear that the Lord was calling HIF to identify itself clearly as an international church with an outward focus on serving the expatriate community and the city. It is our desire to seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which each of us has been sent (Jeremiah. 27:9). As a congregation, we want to be actively involved in meeting real-felt needs among expats and nationals alike.

HIF has always been highly international, attracting people from every continent and over 40 nationalities. Regular participants in HIF worship services typically include businesspeople, diplomats, NGO staff, international students and volunteers. The fellowship has grown to over 400 attendees per Sunday, leading us to start a second worship site in MyDinh area in November 2011. The attendance is now divided with roughly 40% attending at Crowne Plaza and 60% at the Westlake location. The services are very similar in style, but differ in some details. “Same same but different” is what they say here in Asia, which is true also for us.