Chinese Officials Close Church, Members Take the Gospel to the Streets

After the Chinese government shut down a church in Chengdu, members of the house church took the gospel message to the streets.

In a video shared earlier this week, Christopher Gregory, of the China Missions organization, showed members of the church gathering in a public park to sing, pray and share the gospel. Gregory was later arrested and then released.

Gregory told Christian News Network that the church hosted both morning and evening services earlier this week.

“The local authorities shut down a house church in Chengdu last week, so they thought that was the end of it— it wasn’t,” Gregory said on his social media account, adding that police “looked on in bewilderment not knowing what to do.”

“For the first time, people throughout China are saying, “NO!” to what the Communist party wants— control,” he said. “Control over what they can do, what they can believe, where they can go, what they can say.”

“It’s yet another sign something is beginning to take shape here in China, the call for democracy! The call for freedom!”

The video has more than 43,000 views.

According to the organization China Aid, churches must register with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. The Movement is the only authorized Protestant Church in China. Any churches who do not register are considered illegal, and authorities can arrest or jail church members.

Officials can also…