On November 15, nearly 700 church members from the Wanbang Missionary Church in Shanghai met together for worship despite ongoing harassment from Chinese authorities (for more information, click here). Before the service, 10 police officers attempted to prevent Senior Pastor Cui Quan from attending the gathering by blocking the entrance to his home. They also threatened the taxi driver responsible for driving Pastor Cui and his wife to the service. Several church members received text messages containing threats and claiming that the service had been cancelled. Despite this opposition, the believers gathered for worship, though plain-clothes officials filmed the entire service.

On the morning of the following Sunday, November 22, Wanbang Missionary Church pastors Cui Longguo, Liu Quanqin, and Huang Yun were summoned to the police station in Minhang District. The pastors were interrogated on allegations of "engaging in illegal organization and activities." Pastor Liu's fingers were reportedly injured and his personal property was damaged. Officials detained the three along with Senior Pastor Cui until the afternoon to prevent them from leading the worship service. However, the detention of the leaders and threats from authorities did not prevent over 500 dedicated church members from assembling outdoors for their two scheduled services. (Source: ChinaAid)

Pray that the pastors of this church will be strong and effective leaders to their congregation. Thank the Lord for the enduring faithfulness of these believers. Pray that they will be permitted to worship freely.

To learn more about the persecution of Chinese Christians, visit the China Country Report.