Baptists around the world are paying tribute to a former refugee, later turned respected advocate for migrant rights, Minh Ha Nguyen, after he drowned in the sea off a beach in North Carolina, U.S. on Monday, July 15.
The incident happened at 11.26am near near Beach Access #3 (1820 N Shore Drive), Surf City, NC, according to the Surf City Fire Department. Ocean Rescue personnel arrived at the scene to find bystanders already “attending to a victim in the water,” read a fire department statement. Despite efforts by rescue personnel, “the victim did not survive.” He was identified as 57-year-old Minh Ha Nguyen of Richmond, Va.
The National Weather Service later said there were reports of four rip current rescues recently on the same beach.
Nguyen took on various key roles over a 24-year period for the International Mission Board (IMB) serving Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.
IMB President Paul Chitwood called Nguyen an “incredibly gifted colleague” and paid tribute to his hard work for the gospel in the U.S. and around the world, in a statement to Baptist Press.
“He helped shape our stewardship strategies and our efforts to evangelize the largest cities in the world, but also served our SBC family in ethnic ministry in the U.S. We rejoice in his eternal reward even as we grieve with his family, with hope.”
Nguyen served as President of the SBC Ethnic Research Network’s Core Team and presented a report on BaptistResearch.com at the recent SBC annual meeting. He was also director of gift care and data stewardship for the Ministry Advancement Team and led the Radius Global Cities Network research church outreach ideas for global cities.
The Rev. Alan Cross, an immigrant advocate based in Petaluma Valley Baptist Church, Petaluma, northern California, worked closely with Nguyen after meeting him at a refugee ministry conference several years ago.
He told Christian Daily International that the two men “immediately hit it off.”
“He had a brilliant mind and capacity to see what God was going around the world in the movement of refugees and migrants, and he had a compassionate heart for both the sojourner and for those who would receive them.
“I began working with him on multiple projects, including the Global Strategy Forum’s Migration Sphere, where he became an integral member of our team.
“Later, he invited me to join his core team of the new Ethnic Research Network of Southern Baptists.”
The two men often traveled together, presenting at conferences and “made plans over the past few years,” added Cross.
“In all of that, I knew Minh Ha as a compassionate and brilliant researcher who had a heart to bring people of all nationalities together to glorify God.
“He will be greatly missed.”
The narrative of Nguyen’s fascinating life story involved a 12,000 mile journey over the years, starting as a young Vietnamese refugee harboring in a packed boat of migrants escaping bullets and storms across the South China sea to the relative safety of Borneo, then later a Bible college in Switzerland where he met wife Corrinne, before reaching his eventual destination in the USA.
WTVR CBS 6 published a YouTube video from the IMB after Nguyen’s death, in which he shared his testimony.
Nguyen said his story as a young refugee was about “struggle, survival and salvation even amid sufferings, shootings, storms and salvation.”
“Jesus met me as a young boy drifting endlessly in the South China Sea, I was truly lost in more ways than one.
“I will never forget the smell of the men, women, and children baking under the scorching sun.
“Over a hundred of us were crammed in a small fishing boat built to carry only a few dozen. Our overloaded boat barely floated above the waves.”
Nguyen vividly remembered seeing water “as far as the eye could see, merging with the clear blue sky.” The 12-year-old boy was “weary from hunger, my throat parched from thirst. It was unbearable.”
Workers at an oil platform refused to receive the refugees, giving them food and water and pointing them in the direction of Borneo. The group of migrants sank the boat when they reached the island, so that authorities could not force them back into the sea. Eventually they were granted political asylum and Nguyen went on from there.
“God’s grace is sufficient and his presence brings me comfort and strength,” reflected Nguyen in his video testimony. “He goes on the move with me like he did with the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai through the cloud by day and fire by night.
“When our destination is the kingdom of God, even the wrong boat can still take us there.
“The Lord is close to his people in exile. He is the refuge for the refugees, He is the asylum for all who seek shelter and protection.
“In Christ, God is on the move. He made himself poor so that even the poorest could follow after Him.
“He made himself in migration so that refugees and asylum seekers could be on the move with him.”
