Hmong First Baptist Church

Tongber S. Vang is the father three sons. He was born in Sam Neu, Laos. According to Hmong traditions as the first born son, Tongber is expected to carry the family name and practices. Both of his father and grandmother were shamans; thus he would be expected to follow in their footsteps. However, God has “set [him] apart and appointed [him] as God’s spokesman to the world” (Jer. 1:5b). At the age of six, his father sent him to school in Vientiane. He lived with his aunt and uncle Ge S. Vang in Vientiane until the Communist took over Laos. He left Laos with his aunt and uncle, leaving his parents and six siblings behind in the mountains of Laos.

Tongber’s first encounter with Christians came when he was at a temporary refugee camp in Naphon, Thailand. Of all his 7-8 relative families, Tongber and his Uncle Ge’s family was placed in a big tent full of Christians. His family is the only non-Christian in that tent. After having moved to Ban Viani, Thailand and lived there for three years, Tongber’s cousin, Nengmay S. Vang, sponsored him along with another cousin to come to the US towards the end of 1978.

After arriving in Little Rock, Arkansas, Tongber’s cousin Nengmay took them to a Southern Baptist church. Within the year, Tongber was baptized and given a King James Version Bible, which he was unable to read or understand. Two years later in 1980, he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to live with his Uncle Ge and grandmother on State Street, which was heavily populated with Hmong.