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The persecution of unregistered house church Christians in China continues as three church leaders were arrested late last month in separate incidents. In addition, Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) received a disturbing videotape of a Chinese house church being bulldozed by government authorities. On the evening of Saturday, Jan. 24, house church leader Qiao Chunling, 41, of Fangcheng in Henan province, was arrested during a house church service at Guanlin, Luoyang city. Another house church leader, Xu Yongling, 60, was arrested at about 11 p.m. Jan. 25 at Nanyang, also in Henan province. She was asleep at the home of a local church member when police raided and arrested her. She is the younger sister of prominent house church leader Peter Xu Yongze who now lives in the U.S. She has been arrested many times and leads the "Born Again Movement" church with millions of members across China. Her whereabouts are presently unknown. Zeng Guangbo, 35, another house church leader, was arrested in the evening of Jan. 25 at a house church at Zengzhuang village in Henan province. However, he escaped from custody two days later and is in hiding in China. Guangbo is a former military policeman.

Meanwhile, shocking video of an unregistered Chinese church being destroyed has been smuggled out of China. The Tu Du Sha Church in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang province was bulldozed on June 26, 2003. The church, started around 1930 by China Inland Mission, had grown to about 1,500 members. Police first arrived before 4 a.m., expecting the church to be empty. Instead, they found 300 believers gathered for prayer. The police left but returned just before 8 a.m. with 200 military policemen and more than 40 vehicles. In spite of the protests of church members, the church was destroyed. A Chinese Christian covertly videotaped the scene. "In our 36 years of ministry, we've never had a video tape like this," said VOM spokesman Tom White. "This tape shows how the Chinese government treats Christian groups that refuse to register." (Voice of the Martyrs/Asia Harvest)

LITERATURE MINISTRY DISTRIBUTES THOUSANDS OF BOOKS IN CUBA

Despite Fidel Castro's regime, a ministry called Book of Hope has been distributing Christian materials in Cuba for nearly four years. Spokesman Bob Hoskins says he thinks the permission to bring in the materials stems from concern for Cuban youth. Staff members have met with education and health officials who think the materials are beneficial for young people. Each year Book of Hope is required to make a new request to bring in the materials. "It's one of those miracles," Hoskins says. "The heart of God is broken for what's happening to children and young people. God is able to turn the minds of leaders today to allow children and young people to have His Word." National church leaders have set up an elaborate distribution system. They divide the country into sections and then give church leaders responsibilities to train national believers, mostly young people who go door-to-door taking a census. Then they present a gift to the children that is appropriate for their age. Many times an entire household will read the biblical materials, ask questions and give their lives to Christ during follow-up visits. This leads to the formation of neighborhood fellowship groups (house churches) where people gather for Bible studies. Book of Hope workers are in the process of distributing 600,000 books into Cuba, taking advantage of the opportunity for ministry while the doors are still open. (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio continues to air Spanish programs to Cuba via shortwave from South America. Hundreds of listeners have enrolled in the ministry's Bible Institute of the Air, a Spanish correspondence program incorporating radio broadcasts. In addition, numerous pastors' workshops sponsored by Apoyo, a joint training ministry with Leadership Resources International, have been held in Cuba since the mid-1990s.

CHRISTIAN ACCUSED OF 'UNLAWFULLY CONVERTING' PROSTITUTES IN INDIA

Brothel owners have accused a Christian activist of "unlawfully converting" Hindu sex workers in India. Anson Thomas has rescued scores of girls (18 years and younger) from prostitution in Mumbai, Maharashtra state. When a report of the allegations recently appeared in The Times of India, activists from the Hindu political party Shiv Sena protested Thomas' activities by gathering outside a local police station. Police warned Thomas to refrain from giving Hindu child prostitutes Bibles and delivering sermons. "Mr. Thomas is indulging in unlawful acts which could lead to religious and social trouble," said Nawal Najaj, a deputy commissioner of police in Mumbai. Thomas denied that he has forced anyone to convert to Christianity. (Religion Today/Charisma News Service/Compass)

GERMAN EVANGELICAL LEADER OPPOSES ADMISSION OF TURKEY TO EU

An evangelical leader in Germany has warned against admitting Turkey to the European Union (EU). "The full membership of a predominantly Muslim nation would lead to a clash of cultures," said Christoph Morgner, president of the Gnadau Union, the largest Protestant lay association in Germany with 300,000 members. Speaking at a general meeting in Schwaebisch Gmuend near Stuttgart Feb. 9-12, Morgner voiced concern that Islamic extremists in Turkey could erode Christian-rooted democracy. Morgner says the legal order in Germany has already softened up under the guise of religion. Some Muslim women have been allowed to provide photo identification papers wearing headscarves, which is against regulations. Morgner is worried that polygamy may eventually be legalized for religious reasons. He says the German legal system could become unbalanced out of regard for a minority of immigrants. More than 3 million of Germany's 82 million inhabitants are Muslims. While Morgner is opposed to a formal EU membership of Turkey, he encourages a more intensive political, economic and cultural cooperation. (IDEA)

TRIBE IN DEM. REP. OF CONGO GETS FIRST TRANSLATION OF NEW TESTAMENT

The International Bible Society (IBS) launched its contemporary-language Kiyombe New Testament at a dedication in Boma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sunday, Jan. 25. More than 350 church and lay leaders along with IBS staff welcomed the first-ever New Testament in Kiyombe, spoken by about 1.5 million Yombe people in the country. "They are proud to have the Holy Scriptures in their language," said Charles Diawaku, national director for IBS in the country. "Until now, in their church services they have had to use their trade language, Kikongo Fioti, to sing songs of praise and worship, hear the sermon and read the Bible." Even though about 70 percent of the Yombe people in the D.R.C. are Christians, they have never had more than the Gospels and Acts in their native language, and even those portions were in an antiquated language. "This translation will fulfill a spiritual need," Diawaku said. "People of the older generation were using a second language [Kikongo Fioti] that was no longer understood by the younger generation. Educated youth and intellectuals could use French, but that excludes the vast majority of the Yombe people. It was as if their Heavenly Father didn't speak their language." (International Bible Society)

* HCJB World Radio works with local partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo to broadcast the gospel on FM stations in Boma, Bukavu and Kinshasa. Programs go out in English, French, Kikongo Fioti, Lingala, Luba and Swahili. Weekly programs in the Songe and Kikongo San Salvador languages also air from local FM stations in the country.

DIVINITY SCHOOL LAUNCHES DEGREE IN DEFENDING BIBLICAL CREATION

A Christian distance-learning school in Indiana has launched a biblical creation apologetics program. Evansville-based Master's Divinity School (MDS) is hailing the program as the first of its kind worldwide. "This particular program is designed to prepare the pastor, the school administrator, the Christian school teacher, or just the layman who wants to become a thoroughly trained apologist for biblical creation," said MDS President Dennis Frey. He believes the need for such a program is great because most Christians are uninformed about the truth concerning origin-of-life theories. Frey says Darwin's evolutionary theory is more than just a matter of popular bad science. "I know the negative consequences of the teaching of evolution in our society are not insignificant," he says. "They're tied back to the holocaust of abortion, and so many of our social ills in today's world have some link back to the teaching of evolution." Frey says the school's apologetics program prepares students to confront evolutionists with practical, Bible-based, scientifically defensible evidence supporting the Genesis account of creation and other related issues. (Religion Today/Agape Press)

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