CHINA – CHURCH DEMOLISHED AND CHRISTIANS BEATEN UNCONSCIOUS

Barnabas Fund. At least ten Christians have been left severely injured after a mob of 400 people dressed as police stormed a Christian factory in Linfin City, Shanxi Province, China on Sunday 13 September. At 3:00am, a mob descended on the site, where a new church was being built. Mechanical diggers were used to demolish the buildings on the church compound, including a factory, while members of the mob, armed with bricks and other blunt instruments, attacked church members who were sleeping at the construction site. The Christians were driven out of the factory and watched in horror as the attackers smashed windows and doors, destroyed the building’s foundations and used bricks and other implements to attack people. The factory’s business licence was stolen in the attack and one worshipper reported, “The mob also stole money and mobile phones from inside our bags.” Men and women were beaten unconscious but when they were taken to hospital, the local emergency room was instructed to withhold treatment and prohibit blood transfusions. Power, water and phone signals to the factory were cut off, guards were stationed to monitor all the supply lines running to the factory and members of the church are still being watched by the authorities, having been forbidden from leaving home since the attack. Christians recognised some of their attackers as local government officials and police and it has been reported that they deliberately disposed of the evidence and cleaned up some of the mess to hide their involvement. Following the attack, thousands of church members gathered at the site in grief and shock at the scale of the devastation. • Please join with the Christian workers and community members to pray that the authorities will bring to justice those responsible for the violence. Pray that the Chinese government will take action to guarantee the religious freedom of its citizens • Pray that those injured in the attack will continue to receive medical treatment and will feel the Lord’s hand of healing over them.