Arrest and Detainment of Elderly Believers

Over the years, the Early Rain Covenant Church has faced significant opposition, dating back to a large raid that occurred in December 2018 when more than 100 believers were arrested. The raid also involved the arrest of the church's senior pastor, Wang Yi, who was sentenced to nine years in prison. (The initially posted Persecution & Prayer Alert reporting on this situation may be accessed at accessed here.)

Since the initial raid, police have regularly harassed the church, detaining several congregation members. Despite the relentless opposition, the church continues to find ways to worship together and meet the spiritual needs of its participating community members. For example, on September 10th, some of the elderly congregants had gathered at a teahouse in Chengdu to conduct a small-group Scripture reading. However, police officers disrupted their meeting and detained the 11 attending believers, many of whom were over 70 years of age.

When other church members heard about the incident, they went to the police station – calling for the release of the detainees. They were especially concerned for those suffering from chronic age-related health conditions. At one point, an ambulance arrived at the police station. It was speculated by observers that one of the elderly members being held in detention required urgent medical attention.

Finally, at 10 o'clock on Saturday morning, police released nine of the detained Christians. The remaining two, Elder Wu Wuqing and Brother Shen Xiaoqing, were sentenced to 10 days of administrative detention for "illegally organizing proselytizing activities."

The Chinese Communist Party has been increasing its pressure on congregations that are unwilling to join the country's state-sanctioned church and conform to the socialist teachings imposed on them. More reports addressing the various challenges facing our oppressed Christian brothers and sisters in China are available at our country profile.

• Continue to prayerfully uphold the members of Early Rain church, along with the many other believers throughout China who are facing harassment and imprisonment because of their unwavering commitment to Christ.
• Pray for those who are presently being detained, as well as their concerned families, asking the Lord to sustain each one of them with His comfort, strength, provision and other means of divine intervention.
• Despite the governmental oppression, may the message of Christ's love and salvation continue to spread exponentially throughout China, reaching multitudes for His eternal Kingdom.