persecuted church

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"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." ~ Isaiah 41:10 ESV

PAKISTAN: Two Youths Accused of Blasphemy​ Sources: CLAAS-UK, Pak Christian News, Christian Solidarity Worldwide​ Adil Babar Photo: Morning Star News ​ ​ Two Christian teenagers, one of whom is a minor, were arrested on May 18th due to accusations of blasphemy. Adil Babar, who is 18 years old, and a younger neighbour, Simon Nadeem, were charged after a complaint was filed claiming that they had insulted the Islamic prophet Mohammad while playing on the street. A neighbour, Zahid Sohail, who is a local police officer, was apparently walking by when he heard the two teenagers allegedly calling a puppy "Muhammad Ali" and laughing about it. The police officer began to beat Simon, and when Adil tried to intervene, he was beaten as well. When filing the official complaint, Zahid claimed to have two eyewitnesses. The families of both teenagers deny there was a dog anywhere around. As Adil regularly partakes of "naswar" – a smokeless tobacco product – the accused boys claim that Simon was teasing him about his habit, for the brand name of the naswar that Adil uses is "Muhammad Ali." Since the incident, there have been rumours of an imminent mob attack against Christian homes in the region. Some families have gone into hiding for their protection. While speaking of the charges against the young Christians, Nasir Saeed, who serves as the Director of CLAAS-UK, states: "I don't think these two [teens] had ever thought that any passerby could hear their conversation and accuse them of committing blasphemy and endanger their lives. Sadly, misuse of the blasphemy [law] has become so common, and people never think twice about how dangerous its consequences could be." For more information on the challenges encountered by Pakistan's Christians, go to our country report. Pray for the two accused teen boys, Adil and Simon, along with their families and fellow believers in the community, as they now must face the accusations against them and threats of mob violence against all Christians in the region. Pray that these baseless charges will be dropped and that tensions in the community will dissipate. May God work through this situation, bringing about change in the hearts of the individuals involved, as well as others throughout Pakistan who are opposed to the Gospel, leading to an end of the misused blasphemy laws in this South Asian nation. CHINA: Five Christians Released on Bail​ Sources: ChinaAid, Christian Solidarity Worldwide​ Wang Shunping Photo: ChinaAid ​ ​ On August 17th, 2022, Public Security Bureau officers in China detained three Christian men – Wang Shunping, Nu Sangdeng and San Luobo – along with two Christian women – Hua Xiuxia and Dong Mengru – on accusations of "organizing and funding illegal gatherings." It was reported that these gatherings had taken place for the purpose of prayer, and to offer Bible studies and music lessons for young people. One of the believers, Wang Shunping, is the young pastor of a church in Nujiang, Yunnan State. The other four Christians who were arrested alongside Pastor Wang are members of his church. Thankfully, all five Christians were released on bail as of May 7th, and they have since been safely reunited with their families. Since the arrests, several Christian lawyers had travelled hundreds of miles to Nujiang multiple times, and their efforts are being credited for the release of the accused believers. To learn more about the persecution being experienced by followers of Jesus in China, go to our country report. Praise God that all five believers have been recently released from prison. Pray that all the charges against them will be dropped so they can be free to remain with their families and also continue serving in ministry. Additionally, pray that the ongoing oppression of Christians by members of the Chinese Communist Party would ultimately cease. REPORT UPDATE​ INDONESIA: Official Charged After Disrupting Service​ Source: Morning Star News​ An evangelist in Indonesia. Photo: VOMC ​ ​ On February 18th, a local village official forced his way into a church service in the Indonesian village of Rajabasa Jaya and demanded that the Christians stop worshipping immediately. He claimed that the church was meeting without a permit. Other villagers also joined in the attack and, during the turmoil, one of the intruders attempted to choke the pastor. For more details on the initial incident, go to this page. Because of the violent nature of the confrontation, the situation was referred to the police and charges were laid against the instigating village official, Wawan Kurniawan. After charges of blasphemy were considered, Wawan was eventually only charged with "intrusion," in part because of a settlement reached between the accused and members of the church. Wawan agreed to publicly apologize to the Christians and grant the congregation a temporary permit to continue using the building for worship. In exchange, the church members agreed to leave any prosecution against Wawan to the authorities. Some Christian leaders are concerned about the perceived inequality of the prosecutor's decision, believing there would have been a far harsher punishment if similar actions were taken against a Muslim prayer service. "The authorities, I think, should treat citizens equally before the law," states Lukas Sutrisno, an Indonesian church planter. Without consistency in the ways that the regulations are applied, Christians in Indonesia have concerns that such disruptions could reoccur. Pray that there will be consistency in the ways that governing and judicial officials apply the policies and laws of Indonesia. In the meanwhile, may this church continue serving as a testimony of God's love and grace to all the community members around them, so that many others will be drawn to faith in Christ. More specifically, pray that the Holy Spirit will work mightily in Wawan's life through this incident, softening his heart and leading him to acknowledge Jesus as his personal Saviour and Lord.