China: The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail Against the Chinese Church, Page 2

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"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not dispairing" 2 Cor. 4:8

The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail Against the Chinese Church

by Heather Hunter, ICC Correspondent

Little did we know as we were preparing our December issue of CONCERN last year that the church pictured on the cover of the issue had recently been destroyed by the Chinese government. The cross of that church is again pictured on the cover of this month's issue of CONCERN, but this time with another photo illustrating its demolition. This church, fondly known as "Prayer Mountain" to those who worshipped there, was only one of over 1000 buildings destroyed during a campaign in November and December 2000 to crack down on "illegal religions" in Zhejiang province.

Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Zhejiang province to interview two local pastors whose churches had been destroyed. The following account was related to us by Brother Liu, the pastor of two churches: "On November 4, 2000 an article appeared in a local newspaper, announcing that the authorities were going to carry out a campaign to "manage" illegal religions. In another newspaper article on the 13th of November the head of the Department of Religion further articulated plans to take action against buildings being used for illegal worship services as well as teachers of illegal religions."

Around the time these articles were published Brother Liu and his family received an official notice from the authorities, prohibiting them from using the upper room in their home for church services. Like many other Christians in China, Liu had never registered his house church nor his church on Prayer Mountain with the Three Self Patriotic Movement, China's official state-controlled church. Because of this, he was targeted as a teacher of an illegal religion. Despite threats, however, Brother Liu continued his Christian activities.

Determined to punish Liu, government agents destroyed his church on November 24, 2000 on Prayer Mountain with the use of explosives. On December 7, 2000, policemen came to Liu's home, sealing off the upper room and escorting Liu and several others to the police station. At the station they were interrogated about their activities. Deciding that Liu was an important leader of an evil religion, the police confiscated ¥75,000 (about $9,000 US) from his church's treasury. A second pastor, Pastor B, was also forced to pay ¥30,000 (about $3,750 US) to secure his release from prison. Even now his case is pending. Brother Liu could still be charged and again imprisoned.

After hearing about Liu's ordeal, we were able to visit a church that, like his, was destroyed by explosives. Of course this visit had to be done in secret as the Chinese government does not look kindly on foreigners seeking to uncover "state secrets."

Thus we took a taxi to a street to a location close to the destroyed church. From there we walked through several back alleys until we could get a glimpse of the church. However, we could not stop or take a photograph lest we draw any attention to ourselves. Walking back out of the neighborhood we were stopped by a not-so-friendly woman, demanding to know what we were doing there. I guess two Americans are a little hard to miss in the middle of a Chinese neighborhood. Our interpreter explained that we were looking for a friend who we thought lived in the vicinity. Whether the woman bought our excuse or just didn't have the power to do anything, I don't know. We then briskly walked past the remains of the church, got another taxi and left the area.

  
...they continue to cling to their faith
  

Though the authorities continue to keep a close eye on "illegal" religious activity, the Christians in Zhejiang continue to serve the Lord. Their church buildings may be destroyed, but the church body is not. Believers are now forced to meet in small groups and move their meetings from house to house. No matter what the authorities do to discourage the Christians from worshipping God, they continue to cling to their faith, proving the words of Christ in Matthew 16:18: "The gates of Hell shall not prevail against My church."

One of the questions I asked the Christians of China was "What can American Christians do to help?" Their answer was almost always this: "Pray."

Please pray for the following problems and concerns raised by our Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ.

1. Lack of freedom to preach the Gospel. 
2. Lack of trained leaders. 
3. Lack of teaching materials. 
4. Prevalence of false doctrines/cults. 
5. Improved unity among believers. 
6. A change of heart for government leaders.

Despite the many problems the Christians face, the believers of China also have some amazing testimonies. The following story was told to us by Brother Yung: "A few years ago the authorities wanted to ruin a baptismal service that my church had organized. They planned to block up the creek with rocks and put feces in the water so it would become dirty. However, one of the church members, the wife of a police officer, came to know about their evil plans, and she informed the church leaders. (Article Continued on Page 4...) 

(Click here for more information on China.)

Continued on Page 3...  

POSTED:  June 16, 2001

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