Laotians in North America Joshua Vang, a former Laotian pastor, arrived in the United States in 1976. In the same year, he established the first US Laotian church in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1979, Joshua was appointed by the former Home Mission Board as the National Missionary for the Laotian, Hmong, and Thai Ministries in North America. He continued this position until his death in 2000. Today, there are more than 100 Southern Baptist churches and mission congregations among these former refugees who been blessed with the American dream and have made this nation as their permanent home.

I. Historical Perspective

       
A. Country of Origin - The Laotian people emigrated from Laos, a landlocked country in the heart of Southeast Asia bordered by Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and China.  Most of these people have come to the United States as refugees since 1975.


B. Language(s) - The official language is Lao, which has six tones. Other main languages are Thai and Hmong. Since the 1990s, learning English in Laos has become popular in urban areas.


C. Religious Background - About two-thirds of the Laos population is Buddhist. Buddhism, mixed with Hindu rites and traditions, is part of daily life for most of the people. One-third of all people are animists who emphasize a reverence for all living things. About 2 percent of the people are Christian and 1 percent are Muslim.


D. Subcultures - People in Laos are generally classified into two groups: the lowlander Laotians, who are mostly Buddhists, and the highlander Hmongs, who are mostly animists. Their differences in religion are reflected in their customs and traditions.


E. Past Challenges - Laotians in North America are faced with cultural changes which affect their longtime religious, social, family, and lifestyles from their homeland. The second generation of Laotians is adopting the Western culture, which separates them from their family traditions. There are also language and generation gaps between the first and second generations.


F. Past Immigration Patterns - Laotian people came to the United States as refugees. There is a slower growth of Laotian immigration compared with other immigrants coming to North America due to the political situations in Laos. Many of the Laotian families in theUnited States are not yet financially able to bring in their loved ones to join them.

II. Current/Future Challenges


A. Population - It is estimated that there are more than 800,000 people from Laos scattered across North America. However, many of the lowland Laotians are still concentrated in the southern states and the lowland Hmong are in the northern and western states.


B. Present Immigration Patterns - The Laotians are observed to remain where they were resettled when they arrived in the United States. The Hmong are making Minnesota and Wisconsin their favorite states.  The college-graduate children of these two groups have been going into new cities where they can find better employment opportunities.


C. Evangelism - The most effective way to evangelize people from Laos is through a contextualized approach. They look up to indigenous leadership, materials, and programs in their own language and culture. There is also a growing challenge to provide English ministries to the growing second generation of Laotians in North America.


D. Church Planting - There is slow growth in the church planting works among Laotians.  Most of the Laotian Southern Baptist congregations are not yet self-supporting. These leaders and congregations are depending on committed partners in sponsoring new works with and for them. On the other hand, even the poorest of these congregations do not hesitate to sacrificially give and support evangelistic and church planting works in their homeland, which is still under the communist regime. The leaders and congregations are also hoping that the Southern Baptist leaders will replace their only NAMB missionary who died in 2000.


E. Family Life

• Education - Most Laotian parents who were farmers, soldiers, and unskilled laborers from Laos would rather encourage their children to work than go to college. Their lifestyle is to enjoy life in the present time rather than invest for their children’s education.  Many of the first-generation immigrants don't take time to attend English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.
• Occupation - Most of the Laotians who have problems speaking English tend to be content to remain in their unskilled jobs.  Older people who coame as refugees are under government welfare support.

III. Resources

        
A. Materials

Vang, Joshua. Laotian Church Planting Guide (Revised-reprinted). North American Mission Board. Alpharetta: 2001.

B. References

Grijalva, Joshua. Ethnic Baptist History. Meta Publishers, Miami: 1992

CultureGrams. 1305 North Research Way, Bldg. K, Orem,Utah, 2001.