House church baptism disrupted by raid

China Aid Association 28 June 2012

An unregistered church that holds
several mass baptisms each year.

Seventeen believers were detained during a baptism service when officials and police raided a Han Chinese house church in the far west region of Xinjiang. The raid on the Bajiahu house church in Jinghe county occurred early in June during a gathering of more than 20 Christians. The church has also been ordered to stop holding meetings.

Police officers burst into the meeting, followed by officials overseeing religion and domestic security. The 17 believers were taken into custody and held until that evening, when they were escorted home by police.

Wang Lili, the leader of the house church, was not on site during the raid. However, the purse she left at the meeting site, which contained her government ID card, keys and more than 3,600 yuan (approximately $580 CAD), was confiscated. At last report, her belongings had not been returned.

The husband of one of the detainees, who is not himself a Christian, was required to sign a guarantee that his wife will no longer attend the house church's meetings. He reportedly became very angry with his wife.

Praise God for the baptism of these believers! Pray that these believers will continue to grow in their faith in Jesus. Please pray that Wang's belongings will be returned to her. Please pray that the unbelieving husband will see Christ through his wife's faithfulness (1 Peter 3:1).

Go to the China Country Report for more on the suffering Church in China.

China

Current Ministry Projects
The Voice of the Martyrs Canada continues to help distribute Bibles to Christians in the country, making it possible for them to have their own printed version of God's Word. Additionally, VOMC works with various mission partners to facilitate a Biblical understanding of persecution and discipleship, while presenting ways to effectively respond and minister within the context of hostility.

Project Funds: Underground Church, Bible, Relief & Development
Country Information
Population
1,413,142,846 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Han Chinese (91.1), ethnic minorities (8.9 - includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.)

Religion (%)
Folk religion (21.9), Buddhist (18.2), Christian (5.1), Muslim (1.8), Hindu (< 0.1), Jewish (< 0.1), other (0.7 - includes Daoist [Taoist]), unaffiliated (52.1) (2021 est.)

Leader
President Xi Jinping (2013)

Government type
Communist party-led state

Legal system
Based on civil law system; influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems

Sources: CIA World Factbook
Pray for China
Pray that the Gospel will be proclaimed throughout China without government interference so many more names can be added to the Lamb's "Book of Life." May there also be a spirit of unity demonstrated among the country's growing churches, further strengthening existing believers and spurring them on in their ministry service and evangelistic outreach within the country's numerous communities.

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