Update on Arrested House Church Leaders

20 February 2008

_{A house church meeting
Photo from}_{China Aid}

On December 7, Chinese police arrested 270 house church pastors gathered for a Bible study meeting in Linyi, Shandong (click here for details). According to a February 19 report from China Aid Association, 249 of these pastors have since been released after paying fines and serving detentions ranging from a few days to a few weeks. The 21 church leaders still detained were recently given labour camp sentences ranging from three years to one year and three months. The seventeen men and four women have been accused of being members of an "evil cult." Their family members have yet to receive any written notification regarding the Linyi City Re-education through Labour Commission's decision.

To learn more on the persecution of Christian in China, go to the China 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.