by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Authorities in China once again raided the Zion Church in Beijing last month, arresting 12 people and taking down the details of everyone in attendance as part of a crackdown on Christianity in the country, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
China is ruled by the paranoid, authoritarian Chinese Communist Party which has banned Zion Church and other evangelical churches that refuse to register with the government and promote an anti-Christian ideology that glorifies the CCP and its leader. China currently ranks 19 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
The Beijing Zion Church was raided during services held at four separate locations on October 20, ICC reports. The church was banned in 2018 after it refused to install government-monitored CCTV cameras but continued to meet as a church in different places. Among those arrested on October 20 was Elder Qin Guoliang, who was given a 14-day detention sentence.
In a 2024 website report about the situation facing evangelical churches in China, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization states: “The Chinese Communist Party’s goal is to make sure churches don’t fall out of line with official viewpoints. In the case of official churches, this means they are encouraged to praise and pledge allegiance to the Communist Party and its ideology.”
Noting that persecution and discrimination against Christians is spreading across China, Open Doors adds: “Churches that claim Christ as King are viewed with suspicion, especially since Christianity is seen as a primarily Western influence. Most churches are monitored and can be shut down without warning.”
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A prominent Christian preacher and activist known for his anti-war views has died in Russian custody, Worthy News learned Monday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a blunt message to Iran on Monday: the United States will not accept any arrangement in which Tehran acts as gatekeeper to the Strait of Hormuz — demanding coordination, permission, or payment from vessels wishing to pass through what are, by international law, open waters.
Jailed former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has withdrawn an appeal against a court ruling rejecting his request to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, marking another setback in the long-running 1MDB corruption saga.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump said a shooting that disrupted the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner underscored what he called the urgent need for a controversial new White House ballroom.
A period of mourning continued Monday in southwestern Colombia after at least 20 people were killed in a bus bombing along a key highway, officials said, in one of the deadliest recent attacks in the volatile region.
A part of northern Japan was hit by a magnitude 6.2 earthquake while elsewhere in the region wildfires were burning through more than 1,600 hectares of forest as of Monday morning, authorities and witnesses said.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday to allow Texas to implement its revised congressional map, overturning a lower court decision that had blocked the plan over racial gerrymandering concerns.