“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.”
[Aug.25.2022] It was revealed that Chinese police raided a local church amid worship service and locked some 60 members of the church inside the building and arrested one.
According to the U.S. Christian Post (CP), the International Christian Conference (ICC), a U.S. persecution watchdog, reported that more than 20 police officers in uniforms and plain clothes raided the church while members of the Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) in Chengdu, China, in their worship service.
The church members were locked in the building and were released only after they presented their identification cards. One of the saints was arrested by police for not presenting the ID card to the authorities request. Police reported that they ordered the ERCC congregation to break up and the gathering was illegal.
“China’s continued repression of the ERCC is a prime example of the Chinese government’s continued disregard for its people’s religious freedom, even though the Constitution guarantees this right,” said Gina, ICC’s regional manager in Southeast Asia.
“The government has not stopped bullying and persecuting of house churches since the ERCC’s pastor Wang Yi and the elder Qingderpu were imprisoned in 2018,” he said. “The government’s goal is to ensure that all house churches are closed and that the government completely controls Christianity.”
Meanwhile, according to Open Doors, which monitors the persecution of Christians in more than 60 countries, there are currently more than 97 million Christians in China. Many of them worship in unregistered or so-called illegal underground churches (Source: Daily Good News).
Love the LORD, all his faithful people! The LORD preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD. (Psalms 31:23-24)
God, may You reprove the Chinese government for detaining and arresting the saints who were in worship service, and de-establish their plans to control and eliminate the church. Give the grace of the Lord’s warning to the foolish and arrogant rulers who think that if they close the church then Christianity will be over. May the church of this land, amid continuous persecution, be strong and bold in the faith of the living God and be a testament to those who seek and save lives.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
