CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 15, 2026 — A special delegation of high-ranking officials from Vietnam has traveled to North Carolina to meet with Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Samaritan’s Purse. During the landmark meetings this week, the Communist officials told Graham they will protect religious freedom in Vietnam where evangelical Christians comprise just 1 to 2 percent of the population.
The leader of the delegation, Vietnam’s Minister of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, Nguyễn Đình Khang, said, “In the years to come, the government of Vietnam, at all levels of administration, is committed to promote religious freedom.”
The minister described open channels that the government has established, including digital platforms, direct dialogues, and letters where religious minorities who are concerned about limitations can share ideas, recommendations, and needs. Minister Khang said, “In coming alongside citizens, we are trying to ensure that religious freedom is protected by our laws and to enhance the effectiveness of grassroots level policy implementation.”
Franklin Graham, who has visited Vietnam seven times in the past 25 years and preached in the country three times, thanked the minister for prioritizing religious freedom, saying, “I know relations with churches were difficult in the early days, but Vietnam has made great strides in improving religious freedom in recent years and I’m thankful we can discuss the continued importance of that today.”
The delegation, which included nine government officials and three evangelical church leaders, arrived at BGEA’s headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, where they toured the Billy Graham Library. On Wednesday, the group traveled to North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, to see how Samaritan’s Purse stages relief supplies for international disaster responses.
Both BGEA and Samaritan’s Purse have a long history in Vietnam. Samaritan’s Purse has worked in Vietnam for 30 years, helping hundreds of thousands of people in the country through humanitarian aid, livelihood projects, and disaster relief. And in partnership with BGEA, Vietnam has taken significant steps to advance religious freedom for Christians.
The government allowed Graham to preach in Hanoi in 2017, Ho Chi Minh City in 2023, and Can Tho in 2024. Those historic opportunities marked the first time that the government gave permission for an evangelistic outreach with a foreign speaker outside of a religious holiday.
This week, Graham thanked Minister Khang for allowing him to schedule a fourth evangelistic event in Hanoi in spring 2027. “We appreciate the relationship that we have, we value it, and we are looking forward to coming back,” Graham said.
One of the church leaders in the delegation, Pastor Nguyễn Hữu Mạc, president of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam Northern, said there is a visible impact from Christians having greater freedom to share their faith. The church in Vietnam is growing, said Mạc, with more than 1,400 churches and roughly 220,000 believers. Pastor Mạc acknowledged that limitations remain in some places, “but we are very happy because … the relationship between the Vietnamese government and the leaders of different nations is getting better.”
At the end of the meetings, Minister Khang presented Graham with a special painting that the government had commissioned to depict a rice harvest in Vietnam. The minister said it pointed to Graham’s spiritual mission and message, and said, “I hope that your ministry and our friendship will lead to a great harvest.”
In addition to the meetings in North Carolina, the delegation will also be meeting with U.S. government and religious freedom stakeholders in Washington, D.C., and Texas to discuss the steps that the Vietnamese government is taking to give greater freedom to religious minorities.
The Season of Love Festival with Franklin Graham is scheduled to take place in Hanoi in March 2027. Dates and additional details will be available at BillyGraham.org soon.
Media resources from the meetings, including photos and a soundbite, are available at https://media.billygraham.org/vietnam-delegation-visit-newsroom/.
About Franklin Graham, BGEA, and Samaritan’s Purse
Founded by Billy Graham in 1950, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association shares the Good News of Jesus Christ around the world. From its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, the BGEA directs a wide range of domestic and international ministries, including large-scale festivals led by evangelists Franklin Graham who has preached at more than 350 outreaches in over 55 countries.
Most recently, Graham has proclaimed the hope of Jesus Christ in Manchester, England; Madrid, Spain; Minsk, Belarus; Lima, Peru; Ushuaia, Argentina; and Siem Reap, Cambodia. He is looking forward to sharing the Gospel in Hanoi, Vietnam; Santiago, Chile; Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Dublin, Ireland, in the coming months.
In addition to serving as president and CEO of BGEA, Franklin Graham also leads Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian disaster relief organization which works in more than 100 countries, including Vietnam, Nepal, Venezuela, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ukraine.
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Media Contact:
Mark Barber
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