 Pray for the safety and release of church leaders in China. Photo: Beijing Shouwang Church |
A house church in southwest China's Sichuan province was raided by police and security agents on two separate occasions recently.
The first raid took place on April 25th during a music practice. As a result, the pastor and 15 other leaders of Langzhong house church were taken into custody and the brass instruments that were used at the practice have been confiscated. Ten of the 16 were released the next day, with the exception of six church leaders (including Pastor Li Min) who were all sentenced to between three and 15 days' administrative detention.
The following day (April 26th), police and security agents raided the same church during a prayer meeting, this time detaining Pastor Li's wife, Song Liangyu. The house church, which consists of about 1,000 members, has suffered persecution before. One of the previous incidents took place in May of 2012, when officials raided a meeting held in Zhanggongqiao village, banning its leaders from holding further gatherings. Other incidences of persecution in China can be found at the China Country Report.
Pray for the immediate release of all these detained believers, thanking God for their courage and perseverance in ministry despite the pressures they've received from officials to give up. May He use their steadfast witness to move the hearts of those who instigated and conducted the raids and arrests, so the perpetrators will no longer hinder His Kingdom work but actually become participants through it!
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