More than One Hundred Christian Leaders Arrested

16 June 2004

Wuhan, China In a single raid on a leadership retreat on June 11, police arrested more than one hundred leaders of the China Gospel Fellowship (CGF) house church movement. According to a witness to the arrest, around fifty police officers, probably from the Public Security Bureau (PSB), raided the meeting in Wuhan, Hubei Province, around 2:00 p.m., arresting everyone present, including one of the senior CGF leaders Xing Jinfu. There is no information on where they are being held. The CGF was founded in the mid-1980s and is one of five major house church movements, with over five million members.

Pray for the release of these leaders. Pray that the churches left without leadership at this point will be strong in their faith and witness for Jesus Christ. Pray for emotional and spiritual strength for the families of those arrested.

We encourage you to write to politely raise concerns about these arrests. Below is contact information for the Chinese Embassy in Canada and the United Nations. For additional contact information, click here.

Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations
350 East 35th Street
New York, N.Y. 10016
Phone: (212) 655-6100, Fax: (212) 634-7626
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

His Excellency Ping Mei, Ambassador
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
515 St. Patrick St.
Ottawa, ON K1N 5H3
Phone: (613) 789-3434, 3513, 8422/791-0511
Fax: (613) 789-1911
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For more information on persecution in China, click here.

China

Current Ministry Projects
The Voice of the Martyrs Canada continues to help distribute Bibles to Christians in the country, making it possible for them to have their own printed version of God's Word. Additionally, VOMC works with various mission partners to facilitate a Biblical understanding of persecution and discipleship, while presenting ways to effectively respond and minister within the context of hostility.

Project Funds: Underground Church, Bible, Relief & Development
Country Information
Population
1,413,142,846 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Han Chinese (91.1), ethnic minorities (8.9 - includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.)

Religion (%)
Folk religion (21.9), Buddhist (18.2), Christian (5.1), Muslim (1.8), Hindu (< 0.1), Jewish (< 0.1), other (0.7 - includes Daoist [Taoist]), unaffiliated (52.1) (2021 est.)

Leader
President Xi Jinping (2013)

Government type
Communist party-led state

Legal system
Based on civil law system; influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems

Sources: CIA World Factbook
Pray for China
Pray that the Gospel will be proclaimed throughout China without government interference so many more names can be added to the Lamb's "Book of Life." May there also be a spirit of unity demonstrated among the country's growing churches, further strengthening existing believers and spurring them on in their ministry service and evangelistic outreach within the country's numerous communities.