Fifteen Church Leaders Arrested

25 July 2007

A total of fifteen church leaders were arrested in three separate incidents in the first two weeks of July, according to a July 19 report from China Aid Association.

On July 10, Pastor Lu Jiangxiang was arrested by members of the Public Security Bureau (PSB) on allegations of involvement in "illegal religious activities" at his house in Qiaotou, Mingguang County. He was given no legal papers for his arrest.

At approximately 4:00 p.m. on July 11, PSB members along with the Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and the police arrested and assaulted church leaders while they were conducting a children's Bible school at the Zhongzhuang House Church in Jianhu City, Jiangsu Province. Ten Christians were arrested, including the church's pastor, Pastor Zeng Zhengliang. Two Christians were hospitalized for their injuries.

At 11:30 a.m. on July 14, four church leaders were arrested by PSB members at the home of Pastor Fu Pengtu in the city of Wuhai, in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia. No legal papers were provided for the arrests. The names of those arrested were: Gao Chinxia (Pastor Fu's wife), Xie Yanan, Pastor Liu Yukang and Chen Bingui.

Pray for the release of these Christians. Pray that they will stand firm in their faith while in prison. Ask God to continue to bring forth more Christian church leaders to guide those whose leaders are imprisoned (Luke 21:13-15).

For more information on the persecution facing Christians in China, visit China's Country Report.

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.