Vietnamese Baptist Church of Rochester (Rochester, N.Y.)

Lam Le has served as the first and only treasurer of the church since its founding in 1994. Born in 1949 in Saigon, Vietnam, he went to study at New York City College in 1975, after fleeing Vietnam following the fall of Saigon. Upon graduation in 1979, he was hired by Kodak in Rochester. He married Loan Le, b. 1956, and the couple had a son Leo, b. 1983. In 1991 Loan died of cancer. Lam remarried in 1996 in Paris to a woman by the same name as his first wife. The couple has a daughter, Linh, b. 1999.

Lam brought to the survey interview Tu Anh Phan Vo, who is a third generation Baptist and whose uncle founded the Rochester Vietnamese Baptist mission in 1992 (became a church in 1994). David Jackson, director of ministry for the Fingerlakes Baptist denominational office, was also instrumental in founding the mission, which began as an outreach of the Pinnacle Baptist Church in Rochester. Others present at the interview were Lan Nguyen and Khoa Tong, also church leaders. All spoke very limited English and relied on translation by Lam Le.

Ministers include Rev. An Minh Phan, 1992-1995; Rev. Chuong Dinh Vo, 1995; Rev. Sanh Doan, 1997-98; and Rev. Long Tran, 2000-present.

Membership peaked in the mid-1990s at sixty to seventy, but now has withered to between thirty and thirty-five as many Vietnamese have left the Rochester area seeking greater economic opportunities and a larger Vietnamese community. A second Vietnamese Baptist church at 595 English Road was formed but disbanded due to low membership. Despite the small numbers, the Vietnamese Baptist community in Rochester includes six former members who have entered full-time ministry, a church choir, and weekly services on Sunday afternoon.

From the description of Vietnamese Baptist Church of Rochester records, 1992-2003. (New York State Historical Documents). WorldCat record id: 155424516