4/7/2023   China   (Christianity Today) (Update on 9/6/2022 post) An entire church congregation that left China due to religious persecution to seek asylum (and had been in limbo in Thailand since September last year) has finally been granted asylum. All but four of the 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church celebrated Easter in the United States. One pregnant woman and her family will stay in Bangkok until the baby’s birth, which is expected to be April 20. The religious persecution advocacy group Freedom Seekers International, along with other groups and U.S. politicians, worked with the US government to gain asylum and to resettle them in Texas. Churches in Texas have agreed to provide housing, living expenses, and help in getting settled in Texas. Please pray… Praise the Lord for making it possible for these Chinese Christians to gain asylum in the U.S. instead of being sent back to China by the Thai government. Pray for a safe delivery and a problem-free trip to the U.S. for the pregnant woman and her family that remained in Thailand. Pray that the churches will be able to support the Chinese Christians materially, emotionally, and spiritually as they help them get […]

12/1/2022   China   (VOM) On August 17, police arrested six adults and one child from the Xi’an Church of Abundance, aggressively searched their homes, and interrogated them at the police station before sending them home. The next day, the six adults were rearrested and charged with illegal gathering and illegal fundraising. The charges were based on testimony obtained from church members who had been threatened and intimidated. Two days after the arrests, the Civil Affairs Bureau announced that the congregation was officially banned. The two pastors, Lian Changnian and Lian Xuliang and evangelist remain in custody, and their location is still unknown. There was also evidence that Pastor Lian Xuliang had suffered physical abuse while in custody. Please pray… Pray that the Lord will comfort, strengthen, and encourage Lian Changnian, Lian Xuliang and Fu Juan in prison. Pray that their families will also be comforted and that their location will become known. Pray that the church in China, which is experiencing increasing persecution, will remain strong and faithful to the Lord.

9/5/2022   China   (ICC) An entire church congregation that left China due to religious persecution to seek asylum in South Korea has applied for refugee status. Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, which is comprised of nearly 60 members, traveled to Thailand last week to seek protection from religious persecution with the United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR. The congregation left China between late 2019 and early 2020, settling in South Korea. However, when they did not receive refugee status in South Korea, they began to seek resettlement in the United States as another option. The submitted their refugee application on Sept. 5 after traveling to Thailand on 15-day tourist visas. They are hoping that their applications can be processed unprecedentedly quickly. If their visas run out, they could be deported back to China. Please pray… Pray that the UNHCR will look at the church members’ application immediately and that they will grant them official refugee status. Pray that the Thai government will not deport the church members if the application process takes longer than 15 days. Pray that the US government will cooperate with the UNHCR to accept the church members into the United States.

4/29/2022   China   (ICC) On April 12, “Jona Home” published a notice on its website, which reads “Due to reasons known to everyone, from now on our site can no longer serve brothers and sisters in Christ. Thanks to all for your company and support in the past 21 years!” There is nothing left except the notice posted on their website. Baidu Tieba, a Chinese communication platform, has a few entries where users wonder what happened to the Jona Home website. While no one dared to mention the crackdown of the government, some responded, “[It] has nothing to do with your laptop. You should know the reason.” On March 1, the Chinese government officially placed a ban on unauthorized online religious activities. Any religious group seeking to conduct religious activities online cannot do so without obtaining a license issued by the government. Even before the ban was put in place, Bible Apps and many Christian WeChat accounts have been shut down in China. Please pray… Pray that the Lord will give the Christians in China wisdom and guidance regarding how to continue to get the message of Jesus Christ to the people of China. Pray that those who have […]

3/6/2022   China   (ICC) A Christian woman in China was detained for repeatedly attempting to share the Gospel with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan. On Feb. 20, Zhou Jinxia went to the central headquarters for the Communist Party of China in Beijing, holding up a sign asking Xi Jinping to believe in Jesus. The police arrested her, before she was taken back to her province by the police. She was charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. In recent years, Zhou has attempted to share the Gospel with Xi Jinping more than 50 times. She has been arrested numerous times for doing this. Zhou’s house was destroyed by the government in the past, but she continues to be very active in her church and in sharing the Gospel. Please pray… Pray for the Lord to protect Zhou and to use her to share the Gospel with many people. Pray that the Christians in China will remain strong in the midst of increasing government opposition and persecution for their faith. Pray that the Lord will convict Xi Jinping and his wife of their need for forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

2/14/2022   China   (Morning Star News) Unregistered house churches that have relied on online gatherings and teaching to survive the COVID-19 pandemic and persecution will no longer be able to do so starting March 1. Churches, seminaries and other ministries have been told that all religious information on the Internet will be forbidden unless organizations obtain government permission – an option not open to unregistered house churches. The new law not only violates the Chinese constitution but also international conventions that the Chinese government has signed. The number of Christians belonging to unregistered house churches in China is estimated at more than 100 million. If an individual or organization posts religious content without permission or an official license, they will be categorized as people with no social credit score, which would affect their ability to travel, get a job, get a bank loan, and many other important privileges. Please pray… Pray that the Lord will give wisdom to the underground church leaders so they can advise their members in the best way. Pray that the Lord will provide ways for Christians to remain in contact over the Internet without being caught. Pray that the Lord will bring about a regime […]

8/23/2021　China　(ICC) On August 22, the heavily persecuted house church, Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC), was once again violently raided by the local authorities in Chengdu, China. Twenty-eight members of a small group (18 adults and 10 children) were arrested while eating together after a worship service. An ERCC member reported that many of them were beaten by the police in detention. Most of them were later released. Since a December 2018 raid on ERCC, the church’s leaders and members continue to be harassed and repeatedly detained by the local authorities. Please pray… Pray that the Lord will encourage and strengthen the ERCC pastors and church members. Pray that the authorities will touched by the love of Jesus as they interact with the Christians they arrest. Pray that the Church in China will remain strong and faithful as persecution and harassment by the government grows steadily more severe.

8/5/2021   China   (VOM) After authorities arrested Chen Wensheng on June 19, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities held him under designated residential surveillance for 20 days. During this time, members of China’s Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs and the State Security Department interrogated Chen and attempted to persuade him to stop proclaiming the gospel in the streets. State security officers revealed they had documented the more than 1,000 times he had traveled to other regions throughout China to preach the gospel during the past two decades. They had also documented everyone who traveled with him. Chen was released in July, although security officials still continue to keep tabs on him. Please pray… Praise God for Chen’s release and for his faithfulness to preach the gospel over the years. Pray that he is able to continue sharing the gospel despite continuing scrutiny by the government. Pray that the gospel continues to spread in China and that the hearts of Communist party officials and others will be touched by the Holy Spirit when they hear it.

7/18/2020  China  (ICC) As China continues to crack down on churches, even some state-approved Three-Self churches (the only kind of church approved by the government) have been converted to cultural centers “voluntarily.” China Aid reports that recently Flowing Stream Church in Jiangsu province has been forcibly occupied by the local government and converted into a cultural service center. The Three-Self church was disbanded in 2019. A villager said that the local authorities are now using the building to promote President Xi Jinping’s core socialist values. Another church in the same vicinity experienced the same treatment. It was converted into a cultural center after the members “voluntarily donated the venue for the village,” according to the government. Please pray… Pray that the Lord will provide the Christians who have been affected by these building confiscations places to meet for fellowship, worship and prayer. Pray that they will not lose heart, but will be encouraged and strengthened in the Lord. Pray for the church throughout China, as it is experiencing more and more persecution as the communists are increasingly taking away the freedoms of the Chinese people.

2/20/2020  China  (VOM) The Chinese government enacted new regulations this month that require religious leaders and organizations to display complete devotion to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The regulations state that “religious organizations must spread the principles and policies of the CCP, … educating religious personnel and citizens to support the leadership of the CCP, supporting the socialist system, adhering to and following the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” Churches that do not comply are subject to closure, while Christians may face arrest. Government authorities often use religious practices such as collecting offerings to charge Christians with a crime. Please pray… Pray that Christians in China will know how to respect those in authority while upholding God’s laws above man’s laws.  Pray the Chinese Christians will continue to be bold in their witness and share the love of Christ without fear. Pray that more and more Communist officials will come to faith in Christ.