Registration is still a hot issue for China’s long-suffering house churches. The government insists on registration as the only means of legal existence for Protestant and Catholic churches. In practice, registration means subjection to the Communist Party’s Religious Affairs Bureau and other party organs, all of which are controlled by atheists.
...continue reading this storyBAM, IRAN (ANS) -- Praying Iranian Christians and believers from around the world continued humanitarian efforts in Bam Saturday, January 3, as relief workers reported "miracle rescues" more than eighth days after an earth quake reduced this city to ruins.
...continue reading this storyThe government of India has rejected a demand that social benefits be extended to Dalit Christians and Muslims, compounding the problems faced by the most downtrodden social class in India.
...continue reading this storyThe Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) urged prayers for a jailed Christian Internet writer Zhang Shengqi and other Christian contacts who were arrested amid a crackdown against house churches across China,
...continue reading this storyMore than 10 Christian churches and a church-run vocational training center in and around the sprawling Wad el Bashier displaced persons camp in West Omdurman, Sudan, have been demolished by authorities in an ongoing urban re-planning exercise affecting thousands of people.
...continue reading this storyIt will be yet another difficult Christmas for the tribal Montagnard Christians of Central Vietnam as disturbing allegations have reached ANS that a Montagnard Christian has been killed, others tortured and Bibles confiscated. (Pictured: Center, A Montagnard (Degar) Christian arrested (and later beaten) by Vietnamese authorities for practicing Christianity).
...continue reading this storyDUBLIN, December 22 (Compass) -- Police in Indonesia pledged today to provide tighter security for churches during Christmas and New Year celebrations, after one of their own was arrested in connection with the murder of a Christian village chief on the island of Sulawesi.
...continue reading this storyThe leader of a persecuted Baptist community in Turkmenistan has been freed after six days of detention at the feared secret police headquarters of the former Soviet republic, a human rights watchdog said Monday, Dec. 22
...continue reading this storyA leading human rights group urged believers around the world Wednesday Dec. 17 to pray for the safety of two rearrested former Muslims who recently became Christians and "are likely to be subjected to serious beatings."
...continue reading this storyNews of clashes between Christians and public security police over the distribution of Christian tracts has been pouring out of Vietnam since the opening of the 22nd Southeast Asia Games (Seagames 22) on December 5. The house churches, often zealous in their evangelism, have apparently organized the distribution of Christian tracts and other literature featuring the testimonies of prominent Christian athletes, severely pushing the limits of religious freedom in this communist nation.
...continue reading this story