Authorities Tell ERCC Christians to Leave Their Homes

Government persecution against the Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) in Chengdu continues. On Sunday, Aug. 22, officials arrested 28 people gathered in a home for a worship service. The leaders of the service spent two weeks in jail and were fined. A week later, ERCC church member Zhang Fan, whose wedding was scheduled for Aug. 28, was forced to find a new wedding venue — twice — after officials threatened the venue’s owners. Zhang ended up hosting her wedding in her home that day. A few days later, a group of police, national security agents and others circulated in the Jiaoda Garden Wuhou gated community and told ERCC members to move out of their homes within three days while others were not allowed past the gate into the neighborhood. ERCC church members have endured intense persecution since Dec. 2018 when the church was raided and head pastor Wang Yi was arrested and sentenced to nine years in prison. Thank God for the faithfulness of many of the church members: “If God can be for us, who can be against us?” one church member wrote. Pray that their needs will be provided for and that their faith will remain strong.

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