CHINA: New Wave of Testing for Persecuted Christians

12/17/22 • 24 min

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The nation of China has been on the front pages of newspapers and the top of newscasts in recent weeks with widespread protests and a significant shift in the “zero covid” policy. But how will these developments—and the recent elevation of President Xi Jinping to what is essentially a permanent presidency—mean for our Christian brothers and sisters?

Bob Fu, founder, and president of China Aid, will explain how Chinese Christians are affected by these things, and how they are responding. In Xi’s first 10 years in power, religious freedom has been under constant assault—including within China’s state-sanctioned, registered churches. Christians in China know there will be more persecution in the years to come. Our Christian family in China, both young and old, face the decision to either renounce faith in Jesus or have their future taken away from them. How are they preparing themselves, and especially young believers, to withstand that persecution?

Listen for the story of one Chinese Christian woman in prison who said, “I only began loving the Lord when you arrested me.”

Bob will also give listeners an update on two pastors in jail, Pastors Wang Yi and John Cao, and how they are continuing to serve the Lord and grow in faith—even through their incarceration. Pray for rulers and authorities in China, imprisoned believers, the millions of people in China, and for God’s Word to be available to those in this restricted nation. You can write letters of encouragement to brothers and sisters imprisoned for their faith.

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Listen for the story of one Chinese Christian woman in prison who said, “I only began loving the Lord when you arrested me.”

Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast.

Previous Episode

PERSECUTION IN AFRICA: Power In Christian Worship

If there was no spiritual power when believers gather together to worship Christ, then Christians in hostile and restricted nations wouldn’t be attacked. If their worship wasn’t a threat, why would enemies of the gospel try to prevent it?

Jeremy Malkin, who oversees VOM’s international ministry work in west and central Africa, explains that animistic and Muslim communities’ sense that power of Christians gathering together, and they often respond with violence and persecution towards our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Jeremy will share the story of one of our brothers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Matendo, who was abducted by an armed group of Muslims targeting Christians. He was beaten and threatened for his witness, causing long-term damage to his body, yet he is praising God for miraculously sparing his life.

As Christian persecution increases across Africa, there is great need for prayer and support for brothers and sisters who are being driven from their homes and seeing their churches destroyed. On one trip, Jeremy and his team met 300 believers at a church, all wanting to share their story. When Jeremy asked how many had family members who’d been killed by the Islamist rebels, almost everyone in the room raised their hands.

Listen to hear an update on Christians in Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin and other African nations, and learn how you can be in prayer for the persecuted church there. Subscribe to VOM’s free magazine to read more about Matendo’s story in the January issue, as well as recieve the 2023 VOM Prayer Map. Listen to Brother Malik’s episode on VOM Radio to hear more about this Fulani Christian’s testimony.

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Next Episode

MOVING MOMENTS OF 2022 - Part 1

Join this week in looking back on some of the most moving moments on The Voice of the Martyrs Radio in 2022:

Author John Weaver reminds us of the power of prayer in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan and how we can pray with and for them.
Benesh, who has planted more than 30 churches inside Iran in only five years of following Jesus, shares how prayer is the foundation of her ministry and outreach.
Pam Arlund explains how the Lord can ask us to lay down our lives for Him, and at the same time we can know that we are perfectly safe. She will also look back on training and sending John Chau, who gave his life to reach the people of North Sentinel Island for the gospel.
Jerry and Stacy chose to leave behind the American Dream to pursue God’s call to Tanzania and then Iraq. Listen as they share how Jesus is using them to encourage refugees with the love of Christ.
Matthew Hanson reminds us of the price our brothers and sisters pay for the sake of sharing Jesus through the story of an imam who found Jesus in Bangladesh.
“Brother Max,” completely transformed by Christ in Uzbekistan, shares his Muslim father’s reaction to his new faith and the New Testament.
Cade Jefferson reminds us that even in the darkest moments in life, God is there through the incredible story of Nathan and the gospel worker God sent to him on a beach in North Africa.

After hearing these brief excerpts, you’ll want to go back and listen to the entire conversations. Click on the links below to listen in your favorite podcast app or visit VOMRadio.net.

We thank the Lord for allowing VOM Radio to share in 2022 these amazing stories of the power of prayer and of Jesus’s love for the lost. We also THANK YOU for listening and praying for our persecuted brothers and sisters in hostile nations and restricted areas. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to the podcast and share VOM Radio with Christian friends you know would also be encouraged by these testimonies!