The participants consisted of youth from the Evangelical Church of Vietnam-Hanoi and represented leaders from more than 10 churches/denominations in the Quang Ninh province.

During the workshop, participants learned a biblical-based approach to handle conflicts, tolerate differences of other people, and manage anger. They also discussed the disadvantages of unresolved conflicts and how to express God’s teaching regarding unconditional love with conflicting parties. Participants also exchanged experiences and examined ways to constructively communicate with other Christians and non-Christians. At the end of each workshop, participants had the opportunity to work together—via small group discussions—to brainstorm about how to build a culture of reconciliation in their church.

According to the participant’s post-workshop evaluations, the workshops were:

    “Very helpful for my personal life, church and community.”
  • “It is necessary for me to take this training. May God help me with my family, church, and community.”
  • “The training is a good opportunity for churches and [individual] Protestants to improve their knowledge of themselves and know how to solve conflicts.”
  • “I now know where conflict comes from and how to solve the conflict effectively.”　　
  • “Through this workshop, I learned new skills and experiences on how to solve different conflicts in different situations.”　

The workshop in Quang Ninh was the first-ever training that brought local cross-denominational participation from most of the churches in the province. During the workshop the participants also hosted a half-day observation of a government official from Quang Ninh’s Religious Affairs Department and welcomed a visit from an American Christian group, International Cooperating Ministries. Participants at the workshop expressed their hope and commitment to continue the spirit of unity and relationship building within and outside of the Christian community in Vietnam that they learned at the workshop.

IGE has conducted a series of Conflict Resolution Skills Workshops since early 2012. Please see our recent press releases about the workshops in March and August 2012.