[Today's Prayer] China Cracks Down Again on Underground Church in Sichuan Province… Multiple Believers Detained During Worship Service

Chinese authorities recently raided Early Rain Covenant Church, one of the most prominent Protestant house churches in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and reportedly detained numerous believers.

According to Taiwan's Central News Agency and other sources on the 15th, Chinese religious authorities raided the church's Sunday worship service around noon the previous day and took believers into custody.

At least two elders and several church members have reportedly been detained by the authorities so far.

One church member who attended the service claimed, "Not only police officers, but also plainclothes agents and special police were deployed, and some of them were carrying firearms."

Founded in 2008, Early Rain Covenant Church is an unofficial house church not registered with the Chinese government and has long been a target of intensified government crackdowns.

In December 2018, the church experienced a large-scale raid in which more than 100 members and associates were detained at once. Following that incident, the church's founder, Pastor Wang Yi, was charged with inciting subversion of state power and illegal business operations, receiving a nine-year prison sentence, which he is currently serving.

Elder Qin Defu, another key church leader, was also sentenced to four years in prison.

(Excerpt omitted)

Analysts say this latest crackdown is part of the Chinese authorities' broader campaign to strengthen control over house churches, which intensified last year.

In fact, beginning in October 2023, authorities launched a nationwide crackdown on house churches, arresting around 30 people associated with Zion Church across seven regions, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang Province. Pastor Kim Myung-il of Beijing Zion Church was reportedly among those arrested.

In addition, in December of last year, approximately 100 house church believers were arrested in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, and at least 20 of them are reportedly still being detained.

Source: Nate News

"Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let Your glory be over all the earth. Save with Your right hand and answer us, that those You love may be delivered." (Psalm 108:5–6)

Heavenly Father, we hear reports that Chinese religious authorities recently raided a Sunday worship service at a prominent house church in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, arresting and detaining believers.

Please have mercy on China's underground church, which has suffered for decades under a socialist system that opposes the existence and Word of God. Visit the believers who are currently imprisoned, and comfort them through Your Word.

Because the Chinese church gathering together to worship and rise up through God's Word is feared by the authorities, church members and leaders are being arrested and an atmosphere of fear is being created. We pray that Satan's bondage behind these actions would be broken, and that You would grant house church leaders and believers the courage and faith to continue gathering for worship until the end.

May the concern and prayers of the global Church for the Chinese Church, which endures severe hardship and persecution, never cease. As we look forward to the glory of Christ's return, may the Chinese Church and the worldwide Church together fight the good fight of faith.

Hear the prayers of faith offered by the Chinese Church. As persecution increases, may the gospel spread even more rapidly throughout the inland regions of China. Raise up countless house churches that wage spiritual warfare with a faith that does not fear even death.

May the Chinese Church fulfill the Back to Jerusalem vision and the westward movement of the gospel that began in China. May they proclaim the Kingdom of God and bear witness to the true gospel among all nations!