Chinese official removing a
religious mural from a home.
A leading campaigner has warned of a gathering storm for persecuted Christians in China. Bob Fu, a ministry partner of The Voice of the Martyrs Canada, reports that the persecution of Christians has worsened dramatically under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and it could get worse now that he has been declared president for life.
While delivering a speech at a recent event in London, England, Mr. Fu warned: "Churches have been totally destroyed under President Xi's rule. There is a new spiritual storm coming to the Chinese church. It may even be worse than during the Cultural Revolution."
Tough new restrictions on religious freedom were enacted on February 1st. As a result, organizing a home prayer meeting has been forbidden and religious messages cannot be shared with anyone under the age of 18. Even in registered churches, cameras with facial recognition have been installed to monitor who is attending. (A three-minute video report on the situation in China can be viewed here.)
Bob Fu believes that the real reason behind the clampdown is to slow the rapid growth of Christianity in China. When Communism took power in 1949, it was estimated that there were one million Christians. Today that number is more than 100 million. Sociologists estimate that even at the slowest projected rate of growth, Christians will number at least 224 million by 2030.
While we praise God for the ongoing growth of the church in China, please uphold the country's believers -- asking Him to strengthen and equip them so they can stand true and faithfully continue ministering despite the new restrictions. May the governmental officials come to realize that their opposition against the Creator of the Universe is ultimately futile (Matthew 16:18).
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