(Church in Chains) — Pastor Wang Yi of Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, has been sentenced to nine years in prison following a secret trial on Dec. 26. The People’s Intermediate Court in Chengdu found the pastor guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” and “illegal business operations.” […]
(Church in Chains) — On Dec. 26, the long-awaited trial of Wang Yi, pastor of Early Rain Covenant Church, was held in secret in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. The trial took place on the 46th birthday of his wife, Jiang Rong. Wang Yi, 46, has been held in government detention since his arrest in […]
Central African Republic (Mission Network News) – Militias run rampant throughout the Central African Republic. Massacre reports went from rare to commonplace this year in the struggle for control of this strategic African nation. Finding a peaceful resolution won’t be easy, explains Greg Kelley, CEO of World Mission. “You’ve got Islamic/Christianity conflict, which would represent […]
(Fox News) — ISIS released a video Thursday that purportedly shows militants in black masks beheading 10 blindfolded Christian men and shooting an 11th in Nigeria, as part of a grisly campaign to avenge the deaths of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the group’s spokesman. The militant group’s video was produced by its own […]
(Fox News) — More than 1,000 Christians have been murdered by Islamic militants this year in Nigeria, according to a report circulated by Christian news outlets earlier this month. A militia of Islamic Fulani herdsmen murdered Christians as part of an aggressive and strategic land-grabbing strategy across the Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Southern Kaduna and parts […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) — On October 3rd, Rhonda Nerren said goodbye to her husband Bryan, as she has done more than a dozen times in their marriage for what was supposed to be another two-week mission trip. Eleven weeks later, she wonders when she will see him again, as he is stranded in India, […]
(Church in Chains) — Tajik pastor Bakhrom Kholmatov has been released from prison three months early. He was due for release in March 2020, but was freed at 10 a.m. on Dec. 18. Pastor Bakhrom (43) was arrested and imprisoned in April 2017 after secret police officers raided his church, the Sunmin Sunbogym (Good News […]
YANGON, Burma (Morning Star News) – Ethnic rebels who closed more than 100 churches in eastern Burma (Myanmar) in 2018 have allowed 51 Baptist churches to reopen, sources said. Ethnic Wa rebels of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) this week announced they had permitted 51 Baptist churches to reopen in northern Shan state after investigating the […]
VENEZUELA (International Lutheran Council) – The Lutheran Church of Venezuela (Iglesia Luterana de Venezuela – ILV) has announced that their former president, Luis Gregorio Coronado, has been murdered. Coronado was reported missing on December 12. He was found deceased, with his hands and feet bound, on December 16 in a vacant missionary residence building owned by […]
MEXICO (Christian Solidarity Worldwide) — A government secretary in the state of Hidalgo has made public claims that there are no cases of religious intolerance in the Huasteca region, despite evidence from Protestant Christians who were forcibly displaced in July and others who are currently under threat of forced displacement because of their religious beliefs. […]