“Seventh-day Adventists operate more than 67 publishing houses in the world, [but] at the present time, there is no Vietnamese [Adventist] press operating in Vietnam,” noted Velino Salazar, secretary of the Southern California region of the church, as he spoke at the El Monte Vietnamese Adventist Church on Dec. 6.

His words underscored the significance of the afternoon dedication service for a fledgling Vietnamese press operation based in the Los Angeles area.

Seven years ago, Pastor Vinh Khac Nguyen, pastor of the Vietnamese Church in El Monte, and a small team of faithful members began publishing a monthly outreach magazine called “The Voice of Hope.” From an initial run of 200 copies, circulation of the magazine has grown to 4,000 copies monthly. The publication is distributed throughout North America and in several other countries. 

Because the Voice of Hope organization had limited funds and costs of publishing literature were high, Pastor Vinh says, “I became impressed that a printing press was needed so that more materials could be printed in Vietnamese and circulated far and near among the Vietnamese people.” He and others united in earnest prayer.

Two weeks later Vinh received a call from an organization in Seattle, Washington, that wanted to donate a commercial printing press and paper cutter. The owner’s only requirement was that Pastor Vinh needed to find a way to move the equipment, valued at about $7,000. With a rented truck and the dedication of lay persons Sua Vo and Anh Ngoc Le, the printing equipment was relocated to El Monte.

Pastor Vinh translates and coordinates the new ministry while two church members, William Lee and Sua Vo, volunteer their time. 

According to Vinh, the Vietnamese press will be a literature resource for the 10 Vietnamese Adventist congregations currently worshiping in North America. The literature will also assist churches in reaching out to the more than 2 million Vietnamese people in the United States. El Monte Vietnamese Adventists are hoping to reach the nearly 100,000 Vietnamese in California, who reside largely in Los Angeles County, where their church is located.