Church Leaders Detained in Raid

On the morning of November 9th, Elder Li Yingqiang – along with a few other church leaders from the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, Sichuan Province – were visiting a new church that had been established in Dazhou, which is about 400 kilometres away. There, the believers of the two churches worshipped together, held a baptismal service and shared communion. However, this special service was abruptly interrupted when police from multiple departments forcefully entered the building.

While a total of 13 Christians had been taken to a police station that day, 11 of them were released in the evening. However, the police held Elder Li and Hou Duoshu, the leader of the Good Soil church plant, in custody overnight. The next day, Li was sentenced to ten days of detention, along with a fine. Even though Hou was sentenced to five days' detention, it was not enforced because of his poor physical condition.

In a recent episode of the Closer to the Fire podcast, host Greg Musselman was joined by guest Dr. Eric Foley from The Voice of the Martyrs Korea to discuss the Chinese Communist Party's push towards integrated faith and political ideologies – another attempt of the socialist government to enforce its demands for total loyalty from the people of China. We encourage you to listen to this informative discussion at VOMCanada.com/video/china-foley. Further details on the persecution of Christians in China, along with additional reports, are available at our website.

Please continue to prayerfully remember Elder Li, as well as the many other believers who are facing relentless persecution from Communist officials for remaining committed in their allegiance to Christ. Pray that China's church leaders will stand firm by upholding the truth of God's Word, regardless of the demands imposed upon them from governing authorities. In doing so, may the hearts of the opposing officials be radically transformed, allowing the ministry of the Early Rain and Good Soil churches to proclaim the Gospel among the many spiritually searching members of their communities before our Lord's imminent return.