A Special Gathering

The three-day secret meeting of leading pastors was extremely risky. The fact that our partners were miraculously able to arrive and participate undetected can only be the answer to many prayers. Through the pastors' personal reports, the extent of the ongoing repression became clear. Due to digital surveillance, figures, information, and photos regarding the situation of Christians in China are now exchanged only face-to-face. It is therefore very difficult to quantify exactly how severe the persecution in China is. Furthermore, it varies from province to province.

Temporary Freedom

In eastern China, such as in Zhejiang Province, Christians enjoy somewhat more freedom. In a city on the East Coast, for example, many underground churches even send out missionaries and distribute Bibles—which they also receive from ACP—throughout China. This is highly unusual and does not reflect the norm for underground churches in China.

Local Christians have found ways to actively live out their faith despite persecution. They also defend themselves legally against the government's attacks and demands. Yet even in this city, followers of Jesus face many restrictions: for example, they can only meet in small groups in private homes and run a Bible school only underground, as a pastor from this province reported at the aforementioned meeting.

He could not have foreseen that this relative freedom would soon come to an abrupt end. Just a few days after the meeting, massive raids were carried out in his city. 1,000 police officers were deployed to close churches, arrest hundreds of Christians, and destroy Bibles—and this just before Christmas! Afterward, the Communist Party set off fireworks to celebrate the occasion.

Total Surveillance

Persecution is most severe in western China. The province of Xinjiang is home to the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority. They seek independence from China, which is why they are rigorously suppressed. Our partners report that this has led to a spiritual openness that is driving many Uyghurs into the arms of Jesus. As in the early days of the Book of Acts, entire households are being baptized together and joining the growing underground church.

Yet the new believers face a double dose of persecution because they are both Uyghurs and Christians. The government strictly monitors where people are. Every house has a QR code so the police can check at any time who lives there. Gatherings exceeding the “family size” limit are not permitted anywhere. The congregations meet only very cautiously at different locations and on different days so as not to attract attention. They must be quiet and cannot sing songs of praise. Even small children are taught how to flee during police raids.

Brainwashing and Psychological Torture

The report on the fate of the imprisoned son of a network founder in western China is shocking: He was forced by prison guards to dig his own grave and kneel in front of it. Then they shot at his head and threw him into the hole. But they were only blank cartridges—the performance was intended to intimidate him.

Re-education is also a proven method. A Christian from our partners' network worked as a healthcare professional. When it came to light that he was a Christian, he was dismissed from the hospital and sent to a remote mountain village. There, he was forced to work as a Party secretary. He attended Communist meetings every day and was influenced. Every day, his superiors pressured him to abandon the “foreign” faith and embrace the government's ideology. Yet he remained steadfast and faithful to God.

Unstoppable Growth

Persecution causes much suffering and hardship in China—and yet it can contribute to the spread of the Christian faith. We heard from a pastor whose faith presented him and his family with major problems: As soon as it became known that they were Christians, their lease was terminated, and they had to leave the area. The family had already moved countless times. The pastor prayed and fasted to put an end to this situation, yet the chain of forced moves did not break. Looking back, he realized that he had planted a church at each of these locations. He has now planted 30 churches.

A study commissioned by the government but not yet published by Peking University estimates that the number of Christians in China will rise from the current estimated 165 million to about 500 million within the next 25 years. Depending on demographic trends, this would account for 30 to 40 percent of the total population.