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(Photo: ChinaAid)

Police placed at least 500 members of the Shouwang Church, in Beijing, China, under house arrest in an attempt to prevent them from holding an outdoor Easter worship service on April 24. The arrests did not stop other members from showing up at the designated worship site, however. Several went to the site, a plaza, where they were met by police and police vehicles and then herded onto a bus. Other church members were able to assemble in small groups in nearby restaurants, where they proceeded to hold their worship service. Police reportedly detained 34 of the believers. Twenty-four were known to be held in various local police stations, eight were in transit, and at least two were unaccounted for at last report. This is the second time in less than a month that the Shouwang Church, which has approximately 1,000 members, has been targeted by authorities, as they were also prevented from worshipping and detained in mid-April (click here for more information).

Pray for strength and a continued assurance of God's presence for members of the Shouwang Church. Pray those arrested will be released. Pray Chinese Christians will be equipped with everything they need, so that they may do work which is pleasing to the Lord Jesus.

You can learn more about Chinese Christians standing firm in their faith at great cost at the China Country Report.

Current Ministry Projects

The Voice of the Martyrs Canada continues to help distribute Bibles to Christians within China, making it possible for them to have their own print version of God's Word. Additionally, VOMC works with various mission partners to facilitate a Biblical understanding of persecution and discipleship, presenting Chinese believers with effective ways in which they can respond and minister within the context of hostility.

Project Funds: Bible (Distribution), Equipping the Saints, Underground Church

Country Information

Designation
Persecuted

Population
1,397,897,720 (July 2021 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Han Chinese (91.6), Zhuang (1.3), Other (7.1)

Religion (%)
Buddhism (18.3), Christianity (5.2), Islam (1.8), folk religion (21.9), Muslim (2) Hinduism (<0.1), Judaism (<0.1), other (0.7), unaffiliated (51.8)

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.

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