Earth Times reports that in a ceremony in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, the government's Committee for Religious Affairs granted formal recognition under the 2007 Law on Religion to the Vietnamese branch of the Assemblies of God church. The church, the world's largest Pentecostal Christian denomination, has 40,000 members in Vietnam. It has been active in the country since 1989, and had received warnings from the government. However sanctions were never imposed because of ambiguities in the law. Apparently it will take another year for the church's status to become fully legal.
UPDATE: Christian News Today provides more legal details. The recognition process was delayed until now because Vietnam's Religion Law requires 20 years of stable organization before the process can begin. Now it has received an "operating license" which allows it to carry on religious activities in the country for the next year. During that time it must prepare a doctrinal statement, a constitution and bylaws and a four-year working plan. If these are approved by the government, then the Church can hold an organizing assembly.
