Morning Star News, 16 October 2022 (excerpts)

When authorities in Iran summoned a Christian couple in Tehran on Aug. 13, the house-church members supposed it concerned the return of their confiscated belongings.

Instead, Homayoun Zhaveh and his wife Sara Ahmadi were detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison, notorious for its harsh treatment of people deemed political enemies of the state.

Christian Solidarity International recently issued a call for prayer for Zhaveh, 63, and Ahmadi, 44.  Middle East Concern reported they were first arrested in June 2019 for belonging to an “illegal organization” – Zhaveh spending a month in Evin Prison and Ahmadi held there for 67 days – half in solitary confinement.

In November 2020, Ahmadi was sentenced to 11 years in prison for her alleged role in leading a house church and Zhaveh to 2 years for house church membership, including a 2-year ban on membership in any social or political group, a 2-year ban on foreign travel and 6 months of community service.

The convictions were upheld on appeal in December 2020, but Ahmadi’s prison sentence was reduced to eight years. They expected to start their sentences on June 15, 2021, at Evin in the COVID-19 pandemic, but were told they could return home for an indeterminate time.

Now when “Homayoun and Sara answered a summons to the prison, expecting to have confiscated property returned,” MEC stated.   “They were both detained.”

Open Doors, 7 October 2022 (excerpts)

In Bangladesh, our Bangladeshi brothers and sisters face persecution – with believers from a Muslim background experiencing the most intense targeting.  But these courageous Christians are standing strong in their faith.

When Marjina found out that her son Monju had become a Christian, she was devastated.  The majority of people there are Muslim – and, in some communities, almost everybody is.  Christians who convert from Islam face the worst persecution.  Marjina was worried for her son’s safety, but also horrified that he had abandoned Islam.

Local religious leaders insisted that she was the one to return him to Islam – and she did her best.  Not violent or manipulative, she pleaded with him to abandon his new faith.  But Monju had other plans – and so did God.

“I spoke to her about Jesus and why I converted,” Monju says.  Marjina loved hearing his story so much that she wanted to know more and more about Jesus.

She finally decided to become a Christian herself.  Her attempts to lead her son back to Islam had brought her to Jesus.  Not long afterward, Marjina was baptised.

In early September, when local Muslim leaders found out about her new faith, they turned violent.  They dragged her to the ground, hitting and kicking her head, stomach and chest.  She had to be rushed to hospital, and still isn’t able to eat properly.  Marjina and Monju are standing firm in their faith and ask for prayers from their global family.

Morning Star News, August 26, 2022 (excerpts)

Authorities in China on Aug. 19 officially “liquidated” an historical house church in Shaanxi Province in a crackdown on churches that refuse to join the state-controlled Three-Self Church.

The Church of Abundance, which began about 30 years ago, had been targeted as a “cult”, but officials closed it as an “illegal social organization”.  This appeared to be part of President Xi Jinping’s call in 2021 for action against “illegal” religious groups, Bitter Winter reported.

“Xi Jinping’s plan of compelling all Protestant Christians to join the government-controlled Three-Self Church is being ruthlessly implemented,” the group stated.  The Church of Abundance was ordered to cease activities or its members and pastors would be subject to arrest and detention.

The ban also targeted the China Gospel Association, part of the same house church network.  The wife of an arrested pastor stated, “There was undoubtedly physical abuse by these so-called law enforcement officers during their ‘law enforcement.’”  The wives and most church workers were released, but not preacher Fu Juan, the group reported.

“The whereabouts of preacher Fu Juan is unknown, and her husband has not yet received any official written notice of detention,” a pastor’s wife reported.

On Aug. 19, about 100 armed police officers in Shanxi Province surrounded 70 members of Covenant Home Church attending a parent-child camp.  Officers detained nine Christians who were accused of running an illegal religious organization.

Voice of the Martyrs, October 06, 2022

Since accepting Christ, Ton, age 17, and Tan, 15, have been harassed for their decision by their mother and older siblings.  Their mother and the rest of the family are aggressively pressuring the girls to travel to Vientiane to prostitute themselves and send the money back to the family.  

The girls have stood firm against this pressure because they know that they cannot submit to their family’s corrupt plans.  The girls are also refusing to marry unbelievers despite repeated attempts by their family to arrange such unions.  Ton asked for prayers that she and her sister would be able to be good daughters to their mother.

The Communist government, in conjunction with Buddhist monks, persecutes Christians, with the exception of the government-controlled Lao Evangelical Church.  Poverty, lack of infrastructure and mountainous terrain make evangelistic outreach challenging.  Thanks to bold evangelists, churches continue to grow even as they experience ongoing persecution.

Most believers are persecuted by family members or village authorities concerned that Christians offend the spirits, and the central government restricts Christian activity.

Barnabas Fund, 26 September 2022 (excerpts)

Gunmen abducted worshippers from a church service and other residents of Kaduna State, Nigeria, in a raid on 13 September.

In total 43 people were kidnapped by the suspected Islamists.

In a statement, President of the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) Awemi Maisamari said, “There is still no breathing space for communities in Southern Kaduna.  Terrorists, jihadists, bandits and armed herdsmen have continued to plunder and wreck communities.”

He also added SOKAPU’s “profound sympathy to indigenous communities and peaceful Fulani herdsmen affected by this cruelty”.

Pastor John Joseph Hayab, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna, added his condemnation, saying, “We appeal and call on the government to urgently do something and ensure that things like this don’t continue to happen.”

Abductions from church services and Christian communities are common in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.  On Sunday 10 September a pastor was abducted by gunmen from his home in Plateau State and his wife shot in the leg.