China: Police Raid Christian Mission Center, Arrest and Detain Leaders
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Police in China raided a long-persecuted Christian mission center in Chengdu, Sichuan province earlier this month, arresting a number of church leaders and continuing to detain two of them, China Aid reports.
On November 9, Elder Li Yingqiang and Pastor Dai Zhichao of Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church traveled to visit the “Good Land Mission Center,” a subsidiary of their church in Dazhou city, China Aid reports.
The Center was hosting a baptism session, holy communion, and a worship service in a hotel conference room: Chinese authorities have frequently harassed the center because of these activities.
In the middle of the services on November 9, at around 11 am more than ten police officers, national security agents, and staff of religious affairs bureau and civil affairs bureau raided the conference room, China Aid reports. The police arrested 13 believers, including Elder Li Yingqiang, Pastor Dai Zhichao, and Hou Duoshu, the leader of the mission center.
“They were taken to the police station’s waiting room. They waited until around 3:00 P.M. when police began to interrogate them and take written statements,” China Aid said in its report. “Some were released at around 9:00 P.M. Pastor Dai Zhichao, An Yankui, and Wang Yingjie were released after midnight. At the moment, Elder Li Yingqiang and Hou Duoshu are still being detained.”
Chengdu Early Rain Covenant Church sent out a public letter requesting prayer for the release of the two Christians and for the Gospel to impact Dazhou city. “May the gospel shake the city, and yield hundred times more fruit. May God keep elder Li Yingqiang and brother Hou Duoshu,” the church is praying.
Ruled by the paranoid, authoritarian Chinese Communist Party which views believers as a threat to its power, China ranks 16th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
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