The wife of a Christian pastor who has been detained for months in China is asking believers worldwide to pray for her husband.
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Guo Juan, whose husband Zhang Chenghao and Pastor An Yankui, were arrested last fall after reportedly attending a Christian conference in Malaysia, asked Christians to seek the Lord for justice.
“May the Lord be glorified in the entire process and reveal His justice, the case will advance, and the attorney will be used by God to convey justice in the court,” she said. “May the Lord lead Zhang Chenghao so that his heart can be steadfast in God’s grace and filled with peace and joy.”
China accused Chenghao, Yankui, and others associated with Taiyuan Zion Reformed Church of “crossing the border illegally” after attending the aforementioned conference. After a Sunday service, the authorities arrested the pastors on November 21, 2021.
While five of the seven were released in March, Chenghao and Yankui remain behind bars at Xiaoyi Detention Center, according to International Christian Concern.
Juan and Chenghao wed just one month before his detainment, with Chinese officials purportedly refusing to let the pastors see family members since their arrest.
Despite the chaotic and uncertain situation, Chenghao is reportedly feeling at peace in prison, though he is worried for his family. It’s unclear if he and Yankui will be released like the others.
As ChinaAid reported in March, Wang Runyun was one of the five men released earlier this year. He posted a joyful message on social media at the time.
“Dear family, we are back home safely,” Runyun said. “Thank you for your prayers. I am very grateful!”
Runyun and others had reportedly attended the “Gospel and Culture Conference 2020” from Jan. 28 through Feb. 3, 2020, using proper visas and passports.
Yet they were still charged with illegal border crossings more than a year after that event. Christian Aid noted that the event was run by Pastor Stephen Tong Tjong Eng, a critic of the Chinese Communist Party over its religious persecution.
As Faithwire has reported, China’s persecution of Christians and religious minorities persists. The CCP has been on a mission to rewrite the Bible through a communist lens. This quest has reportedly resulted in shocking distortions of Scripture and Gospel truth.
Todd Nettleton, spokesman for The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), a persecution watchdog serving Christians across the globe, told Faithwire earlier this year about these efforts.
“This is a project that the Chinese Communist Party announced in 2019. At the time, they said it would be about a 10-year process … to release a new translation of the Bible,” he said, noting it would include Confucian and Buddhist principles, among others. “This new translation … would really support the Communist Party.”
Read more about that here.
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