According to ChinaAid, at least three Chinese house churches were shut down on August 5 and 6. The churches were located in Wuhan, Hubei, in Sanmenxia, Henan, and in Changsha, Hunan. They belonged to China Gospel Fellowship, one of the major house church networks in China, with an estimated 5-7 million members.
The churches were forced to close down by the Chinese government because church leaders were invited to attend the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation in October 2010 at Cape Town, South Africa. Sources informed ChinaAid that the Chinese Public Security Bureau has obtained the list of 200 Chinese invitees and threatened some of them not to attend, but CGF leaders refused to back down. (Source: ChinaAid)
Thank the Lord for the faithfulness of these believers. Pray the church leaders and members will continue to meet with one another. Praise God for the way He is working in China as the church continues to grow in spite of the restrictions.
Visit the China Country Report for more details on the persecution of Christians in China.