Liao Qiang and his family, members of the Early Rain Covenant Church, fled to Taiwan in July 2019 after repeated interrogation and harassment by the police. On June 29, the family of six arrived safely in the United States, where they will apply for asylum. Following the government raid of Early Rain Covenant Church on Dec. 9, 2018, Liao and his family were repeatedly interrogated, constantly surveilled, and harassed by police.
Read MoreFariba is married to a drug addict, and they have a teenage son. They live in a small room in a machine shop, and Fariba works long hours as a housecleaner to try to make ends meet. Desperate and hopeless, Fariba decided to commit suicide because she felt her life was worthless.
Read MoreAlthough prison officials have officially stated that Wang Yi, pastor of Early Rain Church, is doing well in prison, a source familiar with his condition has said the opposite is true. The source shared that prison authorities are holding the pastor in a highly restricted cell. He is not allowed to have visitors or even speak with other inmates, except for two criminal offenders who are charged with watching him.
Read MoreFatima Koroma graduated from a VOM-supported sewing center in Kabala last year and moved to another village where she set up a sewing shop. All was going well until a year later when her older sister found her in the new village with a new job and going to church.
Read MoreOn Oct. 19, 2020, Reverend Polycarp Zongo was kidnapped by members of the terrorist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) while traveling from his home in Jos to Gombe for a conference. Within weeks of his abduction, his kidnappers released a video of him, demanding a high ransom for his release.
Read MoreWhen a team of evangelists went to a marketplace in Qom to share the gospel, they met a young boy who was selling socks in the bazaar. As they were talking with the boy, they discovered that he had a cellphone, so they gave him a micro-SD card loaded with Christian materials.
Read MoreAfter authorities arrested Chen Wensheng on June 19, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities held him under designated residential surveillance for 20 days. During this time, members of China’s Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs and the State Security Department interrogated Chen and attempted to persuade him to stop proclaiming the gospel in the streets.
Read MoreMilitant Fulani Muslims shot a pastor and his 3-year-old son in Niger State, Nigeria. Leviticus Makpa, 39, served as a pastor and church planter at a Christian school that he established in Kamberi village. On May 21, Militant Fulani herdsman surrounded and attacked his home at the mission base.
Read MoreA teenage girl and her mother were rejected by their family because of their decision to trust in Christ. Desire is 14 years old, and when her Muslim father discovered she had become a Christian by finding her baptism card, he stopped paying her school fees, forcing her to drop out of school. He also divorced her mother, Christine, because he learned she had become a Christian as well.
Read MoreThe Algerian government sealed three churches in Oran on July 7, the latest closings in a government campaign against Christian churches that began in 2017. In November of that year, Algerian authorities began closing churches via a national ordinance mandating that permission must be obtained to use any building for non-Muslim worship.
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