A pastor whose church was demolished by Chinese authorities — who then sent him a bill for related costs — has expressed his unwavering faith in God despite such persecution.
The Guardian reports that in September, authorities demolished Zion Church in Beijing, one of the biggest unofficial congregations in the country. Pastor Jin Mingri, who had preached there every Sunday for decades, was then sent a bill for 1.2m yuan (£133,000) for the related costs.
Jin told the outlet that the demolition of the church was part of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s larger crackdown on religion in the country.
He added, “Of course we’re scared, we’re in China, but we have Jesus.”
According to reports, the 1,500-member congregation was shut down after it refused to install surveillance cameras in its sanctuary or register as an official Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) church.
The church decided this was not appropriate,” Jin previously told Reuters. “… Our services are a sacred time.”
Following the church’s refusal, state security officials and police started to harass churchgoers, even contacting their workplaces and asking them to promise not to go to church.
“On Sunday, the Beijing Chaoyang district civil affairs bureau said that by organizing events without registering, the church was breaking rules forbidding mass gatherings and were now ‘legally banned’ and its ‘illegal promotional material’ had been confiscated,” reported the news agency.
Source : The Gospel Herald
