At least 60 house church leaders, including two South Korean pastors, were arrested while attending a seminar in Wolong district, Henan province, on February 11, according to a February 16 report from ChinaAid. Approximately 30 police disrupted the meeting, arrested the Christians and confiscated phones, books and money. Authorities forced the believers to register and pay a fine. Some of the elderly believers were then released. Police from the home provinces of the church leaders were summoned to Henan to escort the Christians to local detention facilities. The South Korean pastors were expelled from China on February 14 for "engaging in illegal religious activities" and have been banned from entering the country for five years. On February 16, two more house church leaders were released after authorities received calls from foreign journalists. At the time of the report, four leaders remained in detention.

Pray for the release of those detained. Pray that Christians in China will continue to stand firm in their faith in the face of opposition (Acts 5:29).

To learn more about those suffering for Christ's sake in China, go to the China Country Report.