The incidents recounted below are part of a larger campaign of intimidation and harassment. Chinese Communist Party is working actively and on numerous fronts to destroy Christianity and replace it in the hearts, minds, and souls of the people of China. Integral to this effort are attempts to frighten Christians and bully them into renouncing their faith or at least becoming inactive in its observance.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in China, see here.
“Xi’an Church of Abundance: Crackdown on a Historical House Church,” by Tao Niu, Bitter Winter, August 11, 2022:
On August 10, 2022, the Church of Abundance (Fengsheng), a historical house church in Xi’an, Shaanxi, which managed to survive and operate for some thirty years, sent an appeal to Bitter Winter and other media, claiming that since July 20 it is the victim of a heavy crackdown by Xi’an Shilipu Subdistrict Police, led by an officer called Zhang Haibo.
Homes of believers have been raided, and some of them have been taken to the police station for interrogation. Money belonging to the church has been confiscated.
It seems that the police intends to accuse the pastor and elders of fraud. As reported to Bitter Winter, police officers insistently questioned the church members about donations. One officer told believers that the illegal collection of donations makes the church a xie jiao or a “cult,” although its theology is pretty much mainline.
They answered that the poorest members of the community have generously received from the church, and that they believe the money donated is largely used to support the poor….
