Photo: New Life Church
On October 6th, the court proceedings to determine the future of the New Life Church in Minsk, Belarus, officially began. After years of harassment by various government departments, legal action was taken to liquidate the church organization. For more details on this troubling situation, go to this page.
On October 17th, a ruling was made ordering the liquidation of the church, even though the religious organization had previously been approved by the government. In the aftermath of this verdict, which has ruled to revoke the church's registration, any activity conducted by the Christians could now lead to prosecution and imprisonment.
The church has appealed this ruling to the country's Supreme Court. Consequently, the liquidation decision does not take effect until after the appeal has been heard. In the meantime, the New Life Church continues to meet online and in borrowed facilities.
May God give wisdom to Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko and the other leaders of this persevering church community as they determine the best approach for the continuance of their ministry activities in the days to come. In the meantime, pray that a favourable decision will be made by the Supreme Court concerning their church organization. Whatever the outcome, may the Gospel message continue to spread exponentially throughout this Eastern European nation, leading many more spiritually seeking souls to faith in Christ.
