by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A house-church preacher in Guandong, China, has been sentenced to two years imprisonment for conducting “illegal business operations” by distributing his church’s Christian literature, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Preacher Deng Yanxiang of the Shengjia House Church in Foshan, Guandong was sentenced by the People’s Court of Shunde District in Foshan on January 17, ICC reports. “The charges were tied to the church’s publications, including Daily Bible Readings and Interpretations, which were sold and distributed to locals,” ICC said in its report.
Local believers have attested that the Chinese government often uses the “illegal business operations” catch-all to hinder the evangelical activities of house churches.
In a website statement referencing the attitude of the Chinese government toward house churches, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy group explains: “Unregistered churches, even those once tolerated, are considered illegal and increasingly put under pressure, as authorities seek to enforce regulations and tighten policies. State-approved churches come under strong ideological pressure, and smaller congregations are often forced to merge to make a larger church that is easier for the state to control.”
Preacher Yanxiang will be released in May as he has been in prison since his arrest in August 2023, ICC said.
Ruled by the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party, China ranks 15 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2025 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A suspected Islamic extremist armed with a knife stabbed three men in front of schoolchildren at a train station near Zurich, Switzerland’s financial capital, officials said Thursday.
The Pentagon has spent months positioning warships, aircraft, surveillance assets, and Marines around the Caribbean as President Donald Trump weighs possible military action against Cuba, according to a Politico report.
U.S. Central Command has confirmed to Congress that foreign adversaries have exploited commercially available cell phone location data to surveil and potentially target American military personnel in active war zones, raising fresh concerns over troop security in the Middle East.
The U.S. Department of War is stepping up efforts to protect Christians in Nigeria after President Donald Trump directed military leaders to focus on terrorist networks targeting believers in the West African nation, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel now controls roughly 60 percent of the Gaza Strip and has ordered the Israel Defense Forces to expand that control to 70 percent, signaling a major escalation in Jerusalem’s campaign to weaken Hamas and prevent the terror group from rebuilding its military rule.
Israel carried out a targeted strike Thursday in a suburb south of Beirut, marking its first attack near the Lebanese capital in three weeks as the conflict with Hezbollah and Iran-backed terrorist groups intensifies.
President Donald Trump is weighing whether to approve a 60-day memorandum of understanding with Iran that would extend the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to unrestricted shipping, and launch a new round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.