China: 'For where two or three are gathered....'

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

Matthew 18:20 is a beautiful reminder about the Lord's presence in our lives. It's also such an encouragement to Chinese house church Christians who often have to meet in smaller groups to avoid persecution.

 

Yet there's been a disturbing situation this month where Communist officials warned that 'as long as two or three people gathered, they would be detained.' 

On March 28th, Pastor Zhang Sen of Fuyang Maizhong Reformed Church was detained for 15 days after leading prayers outside a detention center in Fuyang. Church members were at the center welcoming several fellow Christians who had just been released. 

 

Police took Pastor Zhang because they claimed the prayer was an "illegal assembly" and was not reported ahead of time. 

 

But it's even worse. Our media corespondant reported on officials from the Fuyang Public Security Bureau who stated "as long as two or three people gathered, they would be detained upon capture."

 

On the surface, the situation for Chinese house church Christians would be beyond perilous if groups of just two or thre Christians in private residences were raided and arrested by police.  But our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ know the Lord is always with them no matter how bad persecution gets.

 

Please join the Global Body of Christ in prayer for Pastor Zhang, Fuyang Maizhong Reformed Church, and their persecutors, and pray that this very serious and severe threat of detention 'as long as two or three people are gathered' does not spread any further. 

 

If the Lord leads, a gift to our Families of Prisoners fund helps support persecuted Fuyang Maizhong Church members. Pastor Zhang himself entered into detention suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, and other ailments. Your partnership makes an immense impact by helping cover any potential needs. 

Your support and prayers show the persecuted across China that there's endless supernatural support from the Global Church, made up of countless groups of 'two or three,' and so many more people united together in faith. 

 

 

Serving the persecuted with you

Bob Fu, ChinaAid President

P.S: Here's a powerful photo of the prayer session outside the detention center in Fuyang.