Christian Post: Police in China raided the Early Rain Covenant Church during a worship service, locked about 60 church members inside the building and arrested one, according to a report.
Over 20 police officers in uniform and plainclothes from the Wuhou district raided the Chengdu-based ERCC while its members were holding worship on Sunday at a tea shop, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reported.
The church members were locked inside the building and released only after they provided their identification. One member, identified as Xing Hongwei, refused to comply with authorities’ demands.
In response, Chinese law enforcement arrested Xing and charged him with assaulting police, according to the ICC.
Xing, who has been recovering from meningitis for about a year and nearly lost his life, was arrested along with his wife, Zhao Qing, and remained in police custody as of Thursday.
The police said ERCC was ordered to disband and the gathering was illegal.
Open Doors USA, which monitors the persecution of Christians in over 60 countries, estimates that China has more than 97 million Christians, many of whom worship in unregistered or “illegal” underground churches. Read more…
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