China’s house churches are under fire again – as the authorities step up the pressure on congregations across the country.
Please pray for our Christian family in China, facing what appears to be an official crackdown spreading throughout the country.
The warning comes from Pastor Zhang Mingxuan, also known as Pastor ‘Bike’, who is president of the Chinese House Church Alliance. He says that the government is harassing churches in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Anhui, Sichuan and Henan provinces.
A house church in south-western Sichuan, for example, was recently issued with a ‘Notice of Order to Reform’, instructing it to stop holding meetings at its building in Jiuzhaigou town. It was also told to comply with a list of other instructions, including ceasing to host unregistered preachers and foreign pastors. It was given 15 days to ‘carry out the corrections’.
- Pray that God will pour out His Holy Spirit on congregations across China as they face what appears to be a fresh wave of harassment.
- Pray that the joy of the Lord will be their strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
- Pray for wisdom for church leaders such as Pastor ‘Bike’.
- Pray that God will touch the hearts of Chinese officials: pray that they will be stirred by the church’s witness to His goodness and grace.
(Source: China Aid)
UPDATE
Please pray for peace and protection for our Chinese brother, Pastor Yang Hua, who is reported to be in poor health after ten months in custody. His lawyers say the leader of Huoshi Church in Guiyang city is suffering liver pain and other serious conditions, after being subjected to physical and psychological abuse. He has been detained since early-December 2015 and charged with ‘divulging state secrets’. No trial date has been announced. Pray for his immediate release. (Source: China Aid)