House church leaders arrested in Henan province

18 February 2009

At least 60 house church leaders, including two South Korean pastors, were arrested while attending a seminar in Wolong district, Henan province, on February 11, according to a February 16 report from ChinaAid. Approximately 30 police disrupted the meeting, arrested the Christians and confiscated phones, books and money. Authorities forced the believers to register and pay a fine. Some of the elderly believers were then released. Police from the home provinces of the church leaders were summoned to Henan to escort the Christians to local detention facilities. The South Korean pastors were expelled from China on February 14 for "engaging in illegal religious activities" and have been banned from entering the country for five years. On February 16, two more house church leaders were released after authorities received calls from foreign journalists. At the time of the report, four leaders remained in detention.

Pray for the release of those detained. Pray that Christians in China will continue to stand firm in their faith in the face of opposition (Acts 5:29).

To learn more about those suffering for Christ's sake 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.