Members of the Shouwang congregation in China were arrested on May 15 as they
gathered to pray in the commercial area of Zhongguancun in Beijing.
Shouwang Church is the largest unregistered church in Beijing, and its leaders have been in an ongoing battle with authorities since being forced out of their worship space and prevented from renting or buying a new building.
On April 10, police detained 169 members attempting to hold services in a public park.
On Easter Sunday, police detained about 34 church members.
Despite the mounting persecution, house church leaders are taking a stand for the Shouwang congregation. Nineteen house church leaders are petitioning China’s legislature to resolve the ongoing tensions and to guarantee religious freedom in their country. The full text of the petition is available here.
Sources: Christian Broadcasting Network and ChinaAid
Photo: ChinaAid
Please Pray!
Please pray for house church Christians and leaders in China. Pray that God would grant them favor with the authorities and that His will prevails.
“This You have seen, O LORD; do not keep silence. O Lord, do not be far from me. Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, to my cause, my God and my Lord. Vindicate me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me. Let them not say in their hearts, ‘Ah, so we would have it!’ Let them not say, ‘We have swallowed him up.'” Psalm 35:22-25
Voice Of the Martyrs assists Chinese Christians by providing Bibles, Christian literature, scholarships for training and emergency aid to families of prisoners.