“In China, Christians suffer all kinds of hardship and even persecution, just because they want to have their own church and freely practice their religion.”
December 14, 2014, was a special Sunday for my church – New Life Assembly of God. People from the university town congregated in the temple for the last Sunday service in the current building. Our pastor titled his sermon “Dream Again”. The sanctuary was filled with young students, middle-aged couples with their children, gray-haired grandparents, and people on wheel-chairs or with crutches.
The current church building was completed in 1965, but will be torn down soon. The university bid a price for the land, and the church negotiated with the university. Then the church leaders decided to sell the obsolete building and purchase another piece of land to build a new temple. I witnessed the whole transition from selling the church property (building and parking lot), to moving out and renting a theatre as a temporary congregation place for Sunday services. The transition went peacefully and uneventfully.
As a Christian of Chinese nationality, this process was an eye-opening experience. I can’t help but pray for this exceptional country. In China, Christians suffer all kinds of hardship and even persecution, just because they want to have their own church and freely practice their religion.
The biggest church in Wenzhou (Zhejiang Province) was accused of “illegal construction” by the government and was torn down overnight, which caused over 20,000 Christians to lose their place of worship. Pastor Zhang, from an official church in Henan province was sentenced to12 years in jail, because he stood up for his church and tried to negotiate with the local government the property of the land.
Faced with such severe conditions, Chinese Christians never stopped dreaming. Shouwang Church in Beijing, my hometown, openly stated that only Jesus Christ is the head of the church and the only book they believe in is the Bible. This “confession” irritated the government, and as punishment, the government prevented them from obtaining the key to the new sanctuary they had just purchased.
Because of their belief, they were even unable to rent a restaurant or a theatre for temporary Sunday services. The government threatened the business owners that they would lose their business license and be put in jail if they allowed Shouwang Church to rent their venues. Then, in 2011, the church leaders started Sunday services outdoors, at a public park.
In the Bible story of Joseph, Jacob’ son, his brothers hated him and eventually sold him into servitude because of his dream. Joseph, however, never lost his trust in God, and his faithfulness propelled him to become the second most powerful man in Pharaoh’s Egypt.
In China, the police arrested over 300 members of the Shouwang Church and many others were prevented from even leaving their houses to attend Sunday services, but if they keep their dream alive and remain faithful, God will see them through.
As for me, now I can dream again; I dream of the day when Christians in China can worship God free from persecution and free from fear. I encourage and ask you to pray with me for this dream to come true.
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.” (Hebrews 10:35)