According to Christians who attend house churches in several Chinese provinces, persecution from government officials is on the increase.
ChinaAid is a U.S. based ministry monitoring persecution in China. The ministry reports one house church in the provincial capital of China’s southern Guangdong province has been pressured by police at least six separate times since the beginning of January to stop meeting.
A missionary, who wishes to remain unidentified, claims police have disrupted church gatherings twice a week since the beginning of January. The police have warned church members to stop worshiping.
The unidentified missionary says he did try to go to the police authorities and explain that the mission and ministry of the church, stating to a deputy police official that church members simply read the Bible and pray and do not engage in any political activism.
The missionary says despite his witness, the police are continuing to come to the church and warn the congregation not to gather.
China Aid also quotes officials from the church as saying three church members were called to the District Public Security Bureau last May, and accused of preaching the Gospel.
The police official told the Christians their gatherings were illegal. ChinaAid says the landlord of the building was pressured by local officials not to renew the church’s lease.
Christians in China’s central Henan district have told ChinaAid officials that the County Public Security Bureau, Religious Affairs Bureau and other government agencies have been putting severe pressure on Christians, and many are afraid to attend services.
The church in Neihuang County is not permitted to invite new people. “If we invite people from outside the town [the government] will talk to you,”one Christian commented.
China Aid also says fifteen Christians were recently detained after they attempted to take food and medicine to a Christian who was under house arrest in Beijing.
Leaders of some Christian churches in Beijing feel that the crackdown on Christians in the city is part of an effort by the Chinese government to maintain stability during the time of the Chinese New Year, which began on January 31st.
Religion Today has documented a series of cases that took place in August 2013. Religion Today reports Christians in Lingao say the city sold a piece of property belonging to the church and began a construction project. According to the Christians, they were beaten after they protested the construction. Church leaders report two women in the congregation were put in a coma, and elderly and children were among those assaulted. Religion Today reports in another case, government leaders abducted and assaulted a leader of a house church.
Religion Today also spoke with leaders of a Christian church in the province of Zhengzhou, who stated that their church building was built with permission from the government. Parishioners say they have found dirt and rocks blocking the doors to the church on many occasions. Pastors claim the electricity and water has been turned off many times, and authorities have ignored complaints about these issues from the church members.
Religion Today also documented a case where government officials invaded another house church, and the pastor was taken into custody. The pastor claims the officials was told to join the Three-Self Patriotic Church [the official Protestant church in China]. Other members of the church say they have also been taken into custody and have gone through intense questioning.
ChinaAid reports an estimated 20 million people are part of the China Christian Council, a state registered Protestant church in mainland China under the umbrella of the state regulated Three-Self Patriotic Movement. According to ChinaAid, the majority of Christians in China are part of the house church movement. Some estimates put the number of Christians who attend house churches as high as 130 million.
China Aid acknowledges that in some areas of the country, Christians are free to express their faith in certain regions, but says overall the situation is getting worse. ChinaAid reports last year, the incidents of persecution rose 41.9 percent from 2011. ChinaAid also states the number of people sentenced in cases relating to religious persecution.
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